The heavens have received a new star. Earlier this week I received word that Theresa (Lubinski) Quinn passed away on Monday, January 9th after being diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer. To those who are following this project you know her as “baby Terry,” or “little Terry”. Theresa was born on October 25, 1942 to Edward and Anna Lubinski in Albany NY. In addition to being her uncle, my father Anthony was also her godfather.
My interactions with Terri over the years were generally limited to seeing her at the occasional funeral in Albany, most recently in 2009 when her mother passed away. As this project was getting underway, I had reached out to Terri and we were in contact mainly through e-mails. I knew that she following. At one time I got a note from her that she never knew how much of a “rug rat” she was. One other time she reached out to make sure I was OK when more than a week lapsed between posts. Unfortunately, we never managed to connect in person.
I will always remember Terri as someone with a fierce fighting spirit who stood up to whatever life threw at here. Her attitude towards life was summed up in a line from one of her e-mails to me, “You can’t keep an old Polack down.” I will be attending the memorial service for her later this spring in the Albany area and am eager to reconnect with her children, some whom I have not seen since they were quite young.
A picture of Dad with his god-daughter Terry while home on furlough in August 1943.
Next up: A bittersweet post on Anna’s letter from March 31, 1945 which mostly details Easter in Albany. As you might imagine, being that Theresa was two and a half at the time, she is the star of the show.
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