Obituaries

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Teresa lived her first 4 ½ years in Orange and in 1990 she and her family moved to Humboldt County. Teresa attended St. Mary’s Elementary in Arcata and St. Bernard’s Elementary and High School in Eureka, California.  When Teresa turned 16, she moved to southern California to live with her father and stepmother.  She finished high school at Temescal Canyon in Lake Elsinore, California. 

Teresa moved to Long Beach, California, where she lived some of the happiest years of her life. She attended Long Beach Junior College and Long Beach State University. Teresa loved living so close to the ocean and beach. She became an avid bicycle rider often riding with a bike group on several mile long rides. She worked as a barista at Berlin Bistro in Long Beach where she loved her job and enjoyed making artistic coffee creations. In 2016, Teresa rejoined her mother in Eureka.  She worked at Eureka Natural Foods at the beverage bar and finally at the North Coast Co-op in Arcata. 

Teresa was an artistic and creative spirit. She enjoyed fashion design and decorating. Teresa was a sensitive, loving and caring individual. She loved life and lived her life to the fullest and always on her own terms! A few nights before Teresa left us, she and her mother enjoyed seeing the movie Encanto and going out to eat Mexican food together. 

Teresa leaves behind her mother Jean, father John/Wilma her siblings Vince/Sara, John/Tanya, Robert/Sonia, Mando/Trish and Brenda. She also leaves behind several nieces and nephews, her boyfriend Tim, her Aunt Patty and her many friends of Long Beach and Lake Elsinore, California and Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. Teresa was predeceased by her grandmother and grandfather Frank and Wanda LaPietra and her great grandmother Vera Barrile.

A celebration of Teresa’s life will be held Sunday May 1,2022, from 1-3 p.m. at Harbour Coffee and Wine 1651 Myrtle Ave. Suite B, Eureka. All who knew Teresa and her family are invited to stop by and share some time together. Teresa would want us all to always remember to be kind and loving to one another.