Theresa “Terry” Almeda Marie Pfeifer Denio
Age 96, of Eagle, passed away Tuesday, August 31, in the company of family. She was born on January 21, 1925, in Two Inlets, MN, the daughter of immigrant Frank and Helena Pfeifer.
Terry is preceded in death by Frank and Helena as well as all nine of her siblings, Conrad, Regina, Edwin, Raymond, Agnes, Lawrence, Aloysius, Margaret and Helene. They were all raised in a small farmhouse on the Pfeifer’s 160-acre homestead in Two Inlets. Their homestead remains in the family to this day. As children, they slept in old feed sacks stuffed with dried corn stalks for mattresses. Terry was still a teenager when she and a sister were sent to Moorhead MN in 1942 to work in a tuberculosis sanitarium to pay for the care of an older brother.
While in Moorhead, Terry found work across the river at Fargo’s Prairie St. John’s Hospital. There she met Martin Denio. Terry joined the nurse cadet program during the war and graduated from St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1946. Terry and Martin corresponded throughout the war while Martin served overseas. They were married in 1947.
In 1950, they moved to Milwaukee. Terry worked at the VA hospital while Martin went to medical school until she retired in 1957. Terry and Martin “Doc” welcomed daughters Sandy in 1958 and Sue in 1961. They raised Great Danes and the family spent weekends and vacations traveling the country to dog shows. Their many litters of Dane puppies included several champions and were of desirable pedigree in the breed. They were AKC judges for many breeds and active in local kennel clubs in Milwaukee, Cudahy and Elkhorn.
In 1970, Doc and Terry bought a farm and what would become their forever home and the family moved to Eagle where they raised sheep, cattle, pigs, hay and dogs. Their children would later have their own homes and families on the same farm. That fact meant Terry’s grandchildren were only ever a few hundred feet from grandma’s house. It was a place she and Doc never wanted to leave, and they never had to. She spent her final years with her great grandchildren under her roof and by her side, and in the care of her granddaughter and family.
Above all, Terry was fervent in her belief and her faith. She was a parishioner of Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Church in Waubeka, WI.
Theresa is preceded in death by her mother, father, siblings, husband, Martin Denio Jr, daughter, Suzanne Denio, and son-in-law, Mark Hanson.
Theresa is survived by daughter Sandra Hanson, grandson Will (Vickie Smith) Emslie, granddaughter Elyse (Ezra) Pett, and great grandsons Mason and Jaxon Pett.
A visitation will be held at Schmidt and Bartelt, Mukwonago, WI, on Saturday, September 11th from 9am-11am followed by a mass at 11am. A burial service will be held on Monday, September 13th at 10am in Holy Cross Cemetery, Milwaukee WI.
