Theresa J. DeVaughn - Obituary

heresa J. DeVaughn May 27, 1925 -October 19, 2024 On the evening of October 19, 2024 our colorful, loving, Mom and Grandma, Theresa, passed away surrounded by her family and friends. Theresa was feisty, right up to the end, always ready to offer advice, solicited or not. She was born May 27, 1925, in Baltimore, Maryland to John and Armoza Jameson. She grew up with her brother and sister and spent time living with her grandmother Marie Elise Pomerleau in Massachusetts. Theresa attended Sacred Heart in Lawrence, Massachusetts, through 8th grade before attending Notre Dame Academy High School in Washington, D.C. During the difficult times on the home front of WW2, Theresa left Notre Dame Academy in the 11th grade to go to work in order to help support the family. At the same time, she enrolled in night school at McKinley Tech in Washington, D.C., earning her diploma. She later went to work at the U.S. War Department Finance Office and the Veterans Administration. She did what she had to do for her family in the face of difficulty and adversity. Theresa met the love of her life, George F. DeVaughn, earlier in her life. His mother was a nanny for her sister, Jackie, and a connection was made. Many years later, she married George on March 2, 1946, in St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. after he returned from WW2 as a B-17 waist gunner in the European Theater. She has been known to say, “I didn’t really like him before he went to war, but he came back a different man.” Soon thereafter, a legacy of DeVaughns came rolling in, as did the chaos, diapers, and unending dishes in their small College Park home. At George’s passing, they were married for 58 years. Theresa was a devout and active member of the Catholic Church, always ready to ask if you had been to mass or confession. She was also very proud of her French-Canadian heritage and using the French language, especially in prayers. Theresa loved celebrating the holidays and packing the family into their small home. She enjoyed baking personal specialty cakes for the family, sending greeting cards, and going on camping and boating trips with family. Throughout the years, she kept in touch with her sorority chapter, Zeta Epsilon-Beta, that she joined in high school, keeping long-time friendships kindled. It is a well-known fact that Theresa loved to dance. At the drop of a hat, if anything so much as chopsticks was playing, she would jump up and start dancing. It’s guaranteed she had Saint Peter doing the twist when she showed up at the Pearly Gates. Once again, the call to duty rang when Theresa again returned to work late in life at Poole’s Warehouse after George’s 3rd heart attack, again doing what she had to do to care for her family. It is a difficult thing for a mother to do, yet she did it. With the “herd” out of the house, she and George moved to Rehoboth, Delaware, near the beach to retire. The place became a destination that the herd returned to use as a base camp. It made her happy. Recently asked, “what is your life’s best accomplishment?” she replied, “My kids; my mother worked when I was little and I wanted to be a stay at home mom.” Theresa is preceded in death by her husband George F. DeVaughn, parents John and Armoza Jameson, sister, Jackie Barnes, brother, John “Ray” Jameson, and her son, Michael DeVaughn. She is survived by her children Elaine Leclercq (Roger), Steve DeVaughn (Sharon), Timothy DeVaughn, Mark DeVaughn, Diana Skipworth (Larry), Lisa D. Bertoldi (Raymond), Rich DeVaughn, Daughter-in-law, Julie Santos (Israel), 13 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren. The Rite of Christian Burial will be held Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 11 am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, 515 Loch Haven Rd., Edgewater, Maryland. Interment – Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20906.