Maria Teresa Armstrong

life story

A loving wife, mother, grandmother and follower of Christ

(1 John 4:11-12) Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

About Teresa

After a two-year battle, Maria Teresa Armstrong, lost her life to cancer at the age of 63. She was strong and determined to get better, but passed away peacefully, with her husband at her side on December 15, 2021.

She is survived by her husband John, daughters Catalina and Karina (spouse: Justin); granddaughters Josephine Maria (Josie) and Charlotte Helen. Plus brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

Maria Teresa (aka: Teresita) was born in Las Vueltas, Peñas Blancas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica in the house of her grandmother to Teresa (aka: Candida) Torres and Domingo Melendez.

She lived in Las Vueltas until she was eleven when she moved to the San Jose metropolitan area. She settled in the suburb of La Trinidad de Moravia where she started her career as a seamstress. She designed and created clothing in San Jose, Costa Rica, for two high-end boutiques that specialized in women’s and children’s clothing.

It was in La Trinidad de Moravia that she met her husband, John, when he rented a house up the block from hers.

She had her first daughter, Maria Catalina, and shortly thereafter, she started working from home as a self employed designer and seamstress.

During her second pregnancy she moved to a small cacao farm in the province of Limon on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica just north of the town of Cahuita.

Her daughter, Karina Helen, was born here. She loved living in the countryside. She was passionate about taking care of her flowers, being outdoors in the fresh air, eating the fresh fruits and vegetables from the farm, looking after her two young daughters and her husband.

In 1990, she and her family moved to Minnesota where John’s family is from.She continued raising her children, continued her career, and grew spiritually. Her sewing skills were extraordinary. The first year in Minnesota, she entered two dresses in the Minnesota State Fair competition, winning first place and second place in her category and she also won the Sweepstakes ribbon which is for the best of all the first place ribbons in all the categories.

She learned English and continued to demonstrate her grit. Once Karina started school, she started working for NuAire, Inc. She worked there for over 25 years. She started going to work by bus, but later on she learned to drive and eventually was driving her own car to work.

She adapted to a new way of living, yet maintained many of her passions and traditions. She continued to use her green thumb growing roses and orchids. She had a dozen rose bushes in her favorite house which was on the banks the Mississippi River in Dayton, Minnesota.

Teresa demonstrated generosity throughout her life. She was a devout christian and depended on her faith to get her through many difficult times in her life, including the last two years. She always gave God credit for her blessings and prayed for the people in her life continually. For many years, she and her family attended the Primera Iglesia Evangelica Bautista of Minneapolis. Most recently, she attended the Traditional Service at Calvary Church in Roseville because of her love of hymns.

Late in her life, her dream of becoming a grandmother came true. She loved spending time with her granddaughters, Josie and Charlotte. Josie especially enjoyed listening to her grandma sing songs to her.

She is a child of God who will be missed.

There will be a celebration of life in Costa Rica in 2022.

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcomed to Calvary Church in Roseville on behalf of Maria Teresa Armstrong. You can choose One Time, Fund = impact/missions, Enter Amout, Submit at the following website.

https://calvarybaptistchurch.shelbynextchms.com/external/form/fa02140a-716c-4790-b2b7-79f3134b2b3d