Teresa Clara (Pfeifer) Kruse, the 10th of 13 children of Clara (Weber) and Leo Pfeifer was born on November 29, 1925, on the family's homestead near Spalding, Nebraska. Teresa attended 1st through 8th grade at a country schoolhouse near Spalding, earning straight A's. Following graduation in the midst of the Great Depression, rather than attend high school, Teresa was needed more at home. There she helped her family and earned extra money by cleaning houses in town. Much later when she was living in Harlan, she was able to go back to school and earn her GED.

At age 18, Teresa's sense of adventure took over, resulting in visits with her sister Mary Ann in Denver for two summers, where Teresa worked as a nurse's aide. She then moved to Omaha and attended beautician school, earning her license and beginning a career that spanned most of her life.

While working in Omaha, she met the love of her life, Harley Kruse, at a local dance at the Sokol Dance Hall in 1948. Teresa and Harley were later married at St Michael's Catholic Church, in her hometown of Spalding, Nebraska, on a cold and blustery winter day on February 15, 1950. It was a double wedding, shared with her sister Carol, who married June Kershaw. Despite the overnight snow storm, the church was full, and the following reception and wedding dance were filled with double celebrations!

Teresa and Harley began their married life on a farm near Logan, Iowa, where Karen and Paul were born. Later the family moved to a farm near Avoca, Iowa where they were joined by two more babies, Jim and Cliff. Teresa became all that a farmer's wife was expected to be: busy raising kids, helping in the fields and the barns with sheep, hogs and chickens, all the while tending to a big garden and hosting huge daytime dinners featuring fried chicken for the hired help at harvest time.

After ten years of farm life, Teresa and Harley decided to move to Harlan where Harley began Kruse Trucking, a successful venture that supported the family through retirement. Teresa worked for a local beautician in Harlan for two years until the family purchased their own home on Walnut Street in Harlan, a home with two front doors, one of which became the entrance to Terri's Beauty Shop. Teresa spent decades in that shop, styling clients' hair and listening to their stories, all the while taking calls for Harley's business and attending to two more babies, Gene and Jon. Raising six kids must have been interesting, indeed, keeping track of babies, grade schoolers and teenagers, all at the same time.

Teresa always loved to dance, and once the oldest four were out of the house and on their own, Harley and Teresa took dancing lessons, which led to an active social life, meeting new friends while enjoying dances in neighboring towns. Teresa was notorious for dragging out sons, sons-in-law, and especially grandsons onto the dance floor. She was like the Energizer Bunny, wearing out many a dancing partner. Teresa took great joy in dancing at the weddings of all six of her children, and also the weddings of twelve of her grandchildren! Luckily, Harley also loved dancing: in fact on the double headstone they designed, above Harley's name is a dancing couple, and above Teresa's name is a rosary.

Teresa was indeed a very devoted member of the St. Michael's Catholic Church in Harlan and was active in the Ladies Catholic Guild, helping plan and hosting receptions for families following funerals. She was also an active member of a prayer & philanthropic group, the Catholic Daughter of America, St Maria Gorretti Court #2498 of Portsmouth.

First and foremost, though, Teresa was a loving Catholic mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, always watchful and encouraging all to stay true to their faith. Missing Sunday Mass was never an option! She was truly a lasting inspiration to her family.

Teresa recently celebrated her 100th birthday, with an early celebration last August at a family reunion in Harlan with extended family and friends. Her children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren joined her again on her 100th birthday in November. She wore her birthday crown well and relished in all the loving attention. When asked how/why she had managed to live so long, Teresa always replied that she believed that God was keeping her here on earth long enough to insure all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren continued on the path to meeting her one day in heaven.

Teresa will be greatly missed by her children and their spouses: daughter Karen (Mick) of Centennial, CO; daughter-in-law Virginia (Paul) of Winterset, IA; son Jim (Shelly) of Waverly, IA; son Gene (Lynne) of Portage, MI, and son Jon (Ann) of Draper, UT; 21 grandchildren and their spouses; 48 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren; sisters-in-laws, Marge Pfeifer of LaVista, NE; Jean Pfeifer of Spalding, NE; and Corrine (Mylan) Kruse of Cedar Bluffs, NE, along with numerous nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.

Teresa was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Harley; son Paul Kruse, son Cliff Kruse; daughter-in-law Karen Ewoldt Kruse; and ten siblings: Agatha (Leonard "Shorty") Hinkle, Mary Ann (Vern) Ede, Michael, James, Carol (Edmond "Jr.") Kershaw; Bernard (Thelma), Edwin (Margaret Ann), Ambrose (Ginger), Frank (Mary Ann), Leo, Clara (Norman) Smith, and George Pfeifer.