My Sister, Teresa Heise

Kim Heise
1 day ago
7 min read

In Loving Memory, Teresa Marie Heise, July 20th 1998 - August 19th 2026

My youngest sister, Teresa, passed away unexpectedly on August 19th 2026. She was a central part of my family, and loved so much by all of us. This is a devastating loss. I wrote a speech about her, detailing her life and the ways she impacted us and others, which I delivered at her funeral and memorial on August 28th 2026. I invite you to read it below.

Also, read a great story about her written by my dad on her obituary webpage, here: https://www.glickfamilyfuneralhome.com/obituary/Teresa-Heise

There is also a wonderful slideshow that my uncle Bob made, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc8CJs8ZAGA

Kim’s Eulogy For Teresa, delivered on August 28th 2026

I have a brother and two sisters. My sisters are my best and closest friends, and I always felt so lucky to have two of them! Teresa is the youngest sibling, and I'm the oldest, and there is an 8 year difference between us, and so I figured she would outlive me. As the years went on, her and I only got closer and closer. She always struggled with her mental health, but she became an expert on understanding it, managing it, and always trying new things to tackle it. Everyone around her was so proud and supportive of her. We were all in it together, and we thought we would have many decades more.

As a child, she was goofy and free-spirited. I have a lot of memories of my little sister smiling and laughing wildly, catching fish, hiking, playing board games, or dressing up in silly costumes for Halloween. In her early teens her mental health issues began, and they were quickly debilitating for her, and terrifying for me and all of her family. She often had to live away from home and in boarding schools so that she could get other kinds of support. When she became an adult, she enjoyed a greater degree of mastery over her conditions, although they were still enormous and a big part of her life. She went to college to become a dietician, then to grad school, and also moved several times, to Tallahassee and then to Indiana. She got engaged to be married, then decided against it. She got a giant fluffy cat, and a tiny fluffy bunny that she loved so so much (they are at home with me and my parents now). She eventually became an expert not only at Dietetics, but also on her conditions and developed a very keen assessment of the state of mental health care, and medical care, and would talk often about where it succeeded, or where it fell short, and where it could be improved. After graduating, she worked closely with elderly patients to make sure they got the nutrition they needed.

This past year, she took a vacation to hike at a national park, and adopted another giant fluffy kitten after months of research about it. She also decided to move to Florida to be closer to Family, and had recently found a new job and had settled into a new apartment in Orlando. I had the incredible opportunity to stay with her for three days in mid July, just after she moved in. It was a beautiful little 2 story house, and she was busy attending to the cats and slowly acclimating them to each other. She always cooked amazing, nourishing meals that felt like they fed your soul. That weekend, she had made me chicken casserole and all ingredients were from scratch, including homemade cream of chicken soup because I have a gluten sensitivity. She had also stocked her fridge with all kinds of foods that she thought I would like. These little acts of love always made me feel so incredibly loved and cared for.

Being around Teresa always felt like home. She was often living far away, and so I was always so excited when we got a chance to be around each other, usually on holidays. My nervous system would relax around her. She understood me and I felt deeply seen and understood by her. I knew I could always go to her when I needed someone to talk to. Some of the moments that stand out to me most are the times when I had a medical crisis. The ways she would show up in those events were amazing and inspiring. She was a steady, healing presence that immediately made me know that everything would be alright. For example, I once had a week long bout of insomnia. After a week of not sleeping it became a medical emergency and I was scared. Teresa had just arrived home for the weekend and when I told her what was happening, and that I didn't know what to do, she very calmly suggested we go to a walk-in clinic, and she insisted on accompanying me the whole time. The doctor at the clinic couldn't help me, so when we got home, Teresa gave me one of her sleeping meds out of her own purse. We joked about her being a walking pharmacy, and then I fell asleep in her bed. She transformed my panic into a good time with my sister. She made me feel so safe and like everything would be ok, both in this instance and in many others. Her friends, family and community enjoyed her empathy and support too. She was excellent at helping others. She often volunteered to cook for soup kitchens, and volunteered at her church and other community organizations too.

She was often living away from home, and so we talked on the phone very frequently. She is who I went to for advice, for a new perspective, or just to chat and have a good time. She wanted to be with me in whatever I was going through. That was often exactly what I needed. We talked often about her troubles too, and she also called me when she wanted to relax and chat. She had a silly sense of humor and between calls we communicated through shared cute memes, cat videos and goofy snapchat filters.

She loved pampering and cozy things of all kinds, like facials, going out to eat, or getting her hair done. She LOVED scents, and was always excited by new soaps, candles and bubble baths. Cooking and baking were some of her favorite hobbies. She was well known for cooking meals with creative and unique ingredients, or complex recipes. Last year for her birthday we got a bunch of different foods to try that contained jackfruit. The year before that we cooked a pineapple upside down cake. You could always count on an interesting food to appear whenever she would visit. Last time she was home, crepes were made, and bagels with all kinds of toppings appeared on the table in the morning. Between her visits we would talk about all the recipes that we wanted to cook together. She loved to move and dance as well. She was always taking classes like CrossFit, belly dancing, or rock climbing. And she loved animals of all kinds, particularly rabbits and cats.

I want to give a special shoutout to my parents, who devoted large portions of time to caring for and supporting her, for her entire life. Since she was often living out of state they would visit her often, many times a year, and stay for days or weeks at a time, helping her with chores around the house, going to doctors appointments, or just hanging out. They were her allies in everything, and they executed that with a level of devotion and skill that always inspired me. They are an integral part of her story and I am so so grateful to them.

I know that many people in this room also cared for her greatly. Teresa talked about her friends and family often, and the breadth and depth of the ways that you impacted her are too lengthy for me to include in this short speech, so I invite you to take a few moments right now to think of a memory or a few memories you have with Teresa (pause). I am deeply grateful for the ways that you were with my sister, and with me, from playing online Pictionary games with her and I on my birthday, to dancing with us at my cousin's wedding, to going on hiking trips. She shared with me the unique experiences that she had with many of you. She deeply loved and cherished her roommates, her lovers, her caregivers, and her friends, and through her stories I know you impacted her in deep and positive ways.

Teresa gave freely to others and loved others freely. She lived an ethical life, she sought deeper wisdom and truth, and she drew attention to issues that need correcting, even when she was the only one. I believe she also saw great success in her life in these areas. Both in her own self and in everyone around her. My sister's life made everyone around her better. Just by being herself, she pushed all of us to be better people. She reminds me that we are all worthy of goodness, love, autonomy, respect, and freedom.

These activities, and this Memorial, serve as a fitting symbol of the deep regard, admiration, and love you and I have for Teresa. She was my dearest and closest friend for 28 years. It’s a very different life without her.

The following is a poem by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks about the breadth and depth of human emotions, both “good” and “bad”, and the important place they each have in our lives. Funerals are our culture’s way of processing grief and celebrating life. Both are so important. It goes:

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.