Teresa Purse, aged 70, passed away at Harefield Hospital in Uxbridge, London on Friday 21 June 2024. 

Affectionately known as Phil to her brothers and their children, she was Terry to nearly everyone else. Terry was born in Portici (Naples), Italy in August 1953 – the last of four children to Salvatore and Maria Spagnuolo. In 1956, when she was just three years old, she travelled with her family to Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia. 

Highlights from the next 45 years of Terry’s life include meeting her lifelong friend, Maria, growing up with and being incredibly close to her extended family of aunties, uncles and cousins, falling in love with and marrying Les, having her two daughters – Angela and Bridget, as well as many family gatherings and holidays in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Thailand and Europe. After working as a bank teller and in a number of sales roles, Terry eventually established her own successful business providing bespoke dressmaking services.

In August 2001, Les passed away unexpectedly. Profoundly sad and determined to find a better life for her, Angela and Bridget, Terry made the brave decision to move to the UK in February 2003. Many would describe her as fun, lively, proud and passionate, but to start over at 50 shows how resilient and courageous she was as well.

Terry continued to work here in the UK, providing sales advice and fitting services for a number of bridal houses until she retired in 2018. By this time, she had found ‘home’ in Sutton, Surrey and had enjoyed so many experiences and adventures, such as seeing Michael Schumacher at the British F1 grand prix, hearing Bon Jovi and others in concert, and holidays in Italy, France, Spain, Greece, and the Caribbean. She also developed a love for gardening and the three squirrels that could often be found tapping at her patio door for their daily dose of monkey nuts! 

Terry was strong willed, generous, loyal, brave, had a wonderful sense of humour, and an unforgettable voice (some would say it could be heard for miles!). 

She is survived by her two daughters, Angela and Bridget, her granddaughter Zoe, her brother Mimmo, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Those that went before her include her parents, her husband and her oldest and youngest brothers  - Enzo and Nino.

Funeral

We welcome all family and friends to join us at the chapel, however we understand that this may not be possible so we have arranged a live webcast. The log in details are as follows.

Website: https://watch.obitus.com
Username: joja4137
Password: 076821

Flowers

Instead of flowers and if desired, we would ask that donations are made in memory of Terry to the British Heart Foundation via the link on this page.

Dress code

As Terry didn't like wearing black, we would ask that everyone wear something in her memory, whether it's stripes (she loved a striped top), floral/colourful or red (Ferrari of course!).