GO IN PEACE, TERESA Our dear sister and friend, Teresa M, slipped quietly away 4/2. Our thoughts and prayers go with her wherever the journey takes her and with Gay and Mary and the countless friends and family she left behind. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the Memorial Fund which is being established to help defray funeral expenses. Checks can be made out to Mary. -djd

DEAR TLC FAMILY AND FRIENDS,

For the second time in a very short while I've found words to be completely inadequate to express my thoughts and feelings to you. How can words convey the depth of joy I've found in loving and being loved by a very remarkable woman, and how can I find the words to adequately thank the scores of true friends who've shared in the sorrow and helped ease the pain of losing her? I'm totally overwhelmed by your love and support. So many have done so much: Hugs, food, smiles, tears, financial aid, spa visits, cleaning...the hugs alone have been enough to see me through. I have felt enfolded by the warm, loving spirit of our friends at TLC and it's really helped make life bearable. I'd like to share my feelings, now, on a related subject. The year I turned 40 I found myself in a full-blown mid-life crisis, precipitated by my finally consciously realizing I'd been a lesbian all my life. Many of you would identify with the kinds of turmoil I faced over the next 6 years as I attempted to make sense of my place in the world. TLC figured prominently in this essential journey. I pored over the newsletter for several years (especially Teresa's more personable comments), went to a therapist advertised in the newsletter, and eventually found the nerve to attend a social function where I met the aforementioned Teresa and began the most beautiful 4 years and 2 months of my life, brimming with love and laughter. To many of us Teresa has been the spirit of TLC personified. She and Mary have given their hearts and energies to this organization for decades and many others have joined with them to provide a safe and loving place for people like me who's lives reach a point of transition; who find they may have to risk everything else of value in their lives to be true to themselves. This can require phenomenal strength, and that's where the support of others who've been there really helps. I sincerely doubt I could have successfully dealt with the losses I've faced in my life, especially the latest one, without the loving support of my TLC family. Just as Teresa has always encouraged me to feel pride in who I am; how I walk and talk, what I think and feel, all that makes me a unique person - TLC has been an encouraging environment for people who have been judged harshly (and unjustly) elsewhere. It's also just a great group to hang with and enjoy. I hope you new TLCers feel the love and acceptance I've felt. It's a comfort and great source of joy to me to know that TLC's spirit will continue to shine well after Teresa's spirit has moved on. As a friend mentioned to me at the memorial service, Teresa's probably gone on ahead to get things organized on the other side and be ready to greet us with her big, warm smile (and a hug, of course) when it's our turn to join her. MY LOVE TO YOU ALL, GAY

ALWAYS IN MY HEART

Teresa Mansager was my friend. We laughed and cried together for nearly two decades. We loved each other enough to forgive our trespasses, and our friendship survived more than one attempt at sabotage. To say that Teresa was generous and selfless to a fault is an understatement. She was unique, she was wonder-ful. She approached new ideas with enthusiasm. She bravely set forth on new adventures. Though I miss her corporeal presence, her spirit is with me always. Blessed Be, my Teresa. Gloria

A Memorial Service to be Remembered "If you think you're too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito." (smiling as I think of Teresa's sense of humor and write those words!) On behalf of Gay, Teresa's two brothers, sister-in-law, niece and nephew and myself, I want to thank each and every one of you who were present at Teresa's Memorial ceremony on April 8th, each and every one of you who assisted in creating the parts of theceremony itself, each and every one of you who assisted in creating the setting, each and every one of you who created the wonderful food; your gift was truly precious and very much appreciated. To those of you who donated money, flowers, cards, phone calls, feelings, thoughts, hugs, comfort, time and love to all of us there and in the days after; you are precious and Gay and I thank you so very, very much. I do know that as Teresa watched from her new universe, she was feeling very overwhelmed as she witnessed the pouring out of gifts and love on her behalf; and I hope that from her new vantage point, she now truly knows just how beautiful, precious and loved she was by the people whose lives she touched, not just in our community but world-wide. As I believe she might say to each of us now........... "There is no death.........only a change of worlds." ~ Native American. with love and gratitude, Gay and Mary