Theresa M Heberling

Theresa "Terry" Heberling passed away Thursday April 24, 2025 surrounded by her daughters at Hospice of Northwest Ohio after a brief illness. Terry was born on July 9, 1954 in Akron, Ohio and the family later moved to Sylvania, Ohio where Terry graduated from Sylvania High School in 1972. On February 22, 1980, Terry met the "undeniable love of her life" Dan Heberling. He was a waiter at Chuck Muer's in Toledo and it was her first day as a hostess. To say he was immediately smitten with the young single mother is an understatement. Dan never wanted to get married, and then he met Terry. Terry was raising two small girls on her own when Dan came into their lives and changed everything. They were married at Oak Openings Metropark on July 17, 1982. Dan formally adopted their two oldest daughters, Jennifer and Kelly in 1983 and in 1986, their final daughter, Alexandra, was born and their family was complete. In 1994, with the encouragement of her husband Dan and father, Bill Doran, Terry embarked on her next adventure, nursing school. She graduated, third in her class, with an AD in nursing in spring 1999 at the age of 42 and passed her boards the following summer. She started working as a Registered Nurse in the critical care unit at St. Charles Hospital where she stayed for 15 years. After St. Charles, she worked at Lucas County Children's Services in the clinic working with foster children. She formally retired as an RN in January 2020 but still volunteered her time as often as possible, most notably volunteering in COVID clinics to administer the vaccine when it was released in 2021. It was her dream to be a nurse, just like her mother, and boy, what a nurse she was. Intelligent, knowledgeable, compassionate and funny, she was everything a patient could want in a medical worker. And she loved it. It is impossible to put into words what Terry meant to her friends and family. A fierce social justice warrior, Terry spent over 25 years volunteering at St Paul's Community Center cooking and serving food to the residents and the community with her glorious smile. A life long Democrat, Terry volunteered for and promoted local progressive candidates, in particular candidates that did not look like her. She was passionately curious and open minded, especially with uplifting and supporting our most vulnerable in the LGBTQ+ community. Terry loved Broadway, she and her husband Dan went to New York City every year specifically to see shows. She recently returned to NYC for the first time since 2019 with two of her daughters and had the time of her life, finally seeing The Lion King which she was waiting to see for 25 years. She and Dan passed on that love of musical theatre to their daughters and the numerous exchange students from all over the world that Terry and Dan hosted in their home since 1992 including Melanie and Uli from Germany and her "little taco" from Mexico, Efren. Terry will be remembered for her joy of life and travel, her incredible smile, her infectious laugh and her unwavering loyalty. She loved her family and her friends unconditionally and we are truly lost without her. Terry is survived by the undeniable love of her life Dan, her daughters Jennifer (Kevin) Mall of Streamwood, Il., Kelly (Matt) Sradeja and Alex Heberling of Toledo, and her little taco, Efren (Claudia) Ramirez Farjat of Mexico City, Mexico. Granddaughters, Colleen, Bevan, Erin, Alex, Gricel, Cosette, Radha. Sisters, Laurie (Bob) Pacer, Rk Greening and brother Denny (Katrina) Doran and countless nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents Bill and Rita Doran and her beloved brother Andy. Visitation will be Tuesday April 29, 10 :00 am-11:00 am followed by a celebration of life at 11:00 am at Sylvania United Church of Christ 7240 Erie St, Sylvania, OH 43560. Arrangements made by Coyle Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to St. Paul's Community Center and Equality Toledo.

Theresa M Heberling

July 9, 1954 - April 24, 2025