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Teresa B. (Fougere) Roach
Teresa B. (Fougere) Roach. 90, of Topsfield Road, Ipswich and formerly of
Stoneham, died Thursday, December 8, 2022 in her home following her brief
illness. She was the loving wife
of Bernard P. Roach. Teresa was born in Medford on November 25,
1932 one of the six children of the late Joseph A. and Marcelline
(LeBlanc) Fougere. She was raised in Medford, a 1951 graduate of Medford
High School.
Teresa met her husband, Ben, as a teenager. As she tells it, he
asked her if she wanted a ride home from school. She politely declined. He
persisted. She finally caved and the rest is history. They married,
visited the Desert of Maine and Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. Shortly
after, they built their first home in Lexington. Children soon followed
and they moved to a larger home in Medford. Teresa was hard at work
raising their 5 children, washing clothes and hanging them out on the
clothesline, as they had no dryer. It was definitely simpler times as they
had only one car, which Ben drove to work each day.
After moving to Stoneham, summer weekends were often spent taking long,
meandering drives through New Hampshire backroads in their station wagon.
They visited iconic sites like the Old Man in the Mountain, The Polar
Caves, and Santa’s Village. Along the way, they would stop to play whiffle
ball while Teresa laid out a picnic of homemade fried chicken and potato
salad. Or they would stay in town, get hamburgers from Carrolls take-out,
and play miniature golf at Hago Harringtons’.
On
summer evenings, Ben and Teresa would have their children put on their
pajamas and take them to the Medford drive-in. As the children recall,
their parents took them to see a wholesome movie comedy about orphan
teenage girls that were being raised by nuns in a convent. It was called
“The Trouble with Angels”. They then took the kids to see the equally
funny sequel, “Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows”. However, when they took
them to see “Hell’s Angels, they soon realized their mistake (and couldn’t
leave fast enough) when the big screen filled with rough looking men on
motorcycles and scantily clad women.
When
the last child finally went to school full time, Teresa found herself able
to enjoy some personal pursuits. She joined a ladies’ bowling league with
other women with names like Bunny, Dolly, and Millie. Teresa would fill
the percolator with Maxwell House Coffee in case her neighbor friends, Dot
or Rita, stopped by for some daytime conversation.
On special holidays, Teresa would put out ribbon candy and
half-moon jellies from Brigham’s. There would also be a large bowl of
potato chips and French onion soup dip on the side table. She would set up
card tables for card games of “Turkey Whist” for her siblings and their
spouses. Her door was always open; Christmas eve especially.
When Ben retired, they moved to Florida and started playing golf.
However, when the second wave of grandchildren began, they returned to New
England. They knew their own children enjoyed summers camping out at Birch
Point on Long Lake, Maine; so this time they bought a small cottage in
Acton, Maine as a gathering place for the children. Many wonderful
memories of swimming, campfires, roasting marshmallows, and sleeping in
“the loft” are imprinted on the grandchildren.
During the last 20 years, Teresa became an avid crocheter of
afghans, hats and scarves. After fully outfitting her entire family and
their friends with her creations, she donated hundreds of her lovingly
made items to charities and shelters. She even opened up an Etsy account
and sold her hats and gloves under “withlovebynanagifts”. Truly, they were
made with love.
She
would often crochet while watching television. When the kids were young,
she watched soap operas like “As the World Turns” and “The Secret Storm”.
She loved watching all the Boston
sports team, as she was an avid fan of the Bruins (since the Bobby Orr
days), Patriots (since they played at Schaeffer Stadium), the Celtics
(since the Larry Bird days) and the Red Sox. Years later when her
granddaughter, Alana, became a contestant on her favorite gameshow, “Wheel
of Fortune”, Teresa was beside herself. However, she was truly grateful
that no grandchild ever appeared on her other favorite tv show, “Judge
Judy”.
During her life, Teresa was a caretaker. She cared for her own
mother during her final days. She went down to Florida and cared for her
sister Madeline during her final days. She had her nephew, Bruce, live
with them when he went to college in Boston.
Her
children will remember her high hair-styled “french -twist”, red
lipstick-stained coffee mugs, and the way she made them feel that no-one
was better than them. They knew better, but why burst her bubble?
Her
grandchildren remember her singing “I love you, a bushel and a peck, you
bet your pretty neck I do” and her common catch phrases such as “Golly”,
“Good enough” and “They’re good as gold” usually referring to them).
Teresa always had a smile on her face, saw the best in people, and gave
out lots of love and hugs. So, in the end, it’s no surprise that those
around her wanted to care for and be with her. She knew this and was
overwhelmed with the outpouring of love.
We
hope Teresa finds that heaven has endless bingo (with no “waits), lots of
card games, and that she is welcomed by all those family members and
friends who passed before her.
The family will be holding a private wake for her immediate family.
They will be hosting a Celebration of Life for Teresa in the spring/summer
of 2023 and all will be invited to share in this event.
In addition to her husband of seventy-one years
she is survived by three sons, John B. Roach and his wife Joanne of
Westford, Alan J. Roach of Wells, ME, Thomas F. Roach of Ipswich; two
daughters, Barbara Heestand and her husband Ronald of Bedford, NH, Janice
A. Bogasky and husband William of Moultonborough, NH; fifteen
grandchildren and a sister, Esther Bergin of Denmark, ME. She was the
sister of the late Claude and Raymond Fougere both formerly of Medford,
Marie (Ethel) Michalak Donato formerly of Medford and Madeline Cutts
formerly of Stoneham.
Arrangements are under the
direction of the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home of Ipswich. To leave a
condolence please visit
www.whittier-porter.com.
In lieu of flowers
memorial contributions in her name may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s
Hospital,
501
St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105 USA / donors@stjude.org or
by phone:
(800) 805-5856
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