On April 10, 2008 the Windsor Branch lost a valuable teacher, friend, and member of our little family - Theresa "Terry" Murphy.

One of Terry's greatest passions was dancing and she told me that she knew right away from her very first lesson that this was to be a big part of her life. She also decided straight away that she wanted to teach dancing, and after a scant 2 years as a "beginner" she was off to Waterloo to take her provisional teacher's certificate. It was all go from then on, and many, many new dancers have benefited from Terry's patient, understanding manner, and kindly instructions.

As our Demonstration Team leader Terry was extremely patient and nothing seemed to upset her. She was the unflappable teacher who took everything in her stride and who never criticized when we could not distinguish our right hands from our left. "No, your other left!"

Once at a live television demonstration, Julie decided to wear stockings instead of panty hose but realized that they were slipping down her legs. Never ruffled, Terry just whipped off her own pantyhose and passed them to Julie, who donned them for the dance. "This anecdote supports my long-held belief that Terry will not only give you the shirt off her back but the pantyhose off her legs" (anonymous, 2001).

No matter what mistakes any of the team members made during a demonstration, Terry always congratulated us on "a job well done", ignoring the imperfections and focusing on the accomplishments. She was "our inspiration".

Terry she would glide around the hall as light as "the down of a thistle"- perfect timing, perfect posture and oh, such perfect footwork. We will all miss her dreadfully - we will miss her calm, gentle voice and her infectious little laugh.

Anne Hammond, April 2008

Back to Members page.