Teresa Deak Obituary

TERESA (JUSTEN) DEAK

Teresa (Justen) Deak passed away in Sarasota, Florida, on July 4, 2025. She was 98.

Teresa was a ray of sunshine. Her optimistic outlook, good humor, and warm and caring nature made the world a better place for everyone with whom she had contact. Her winning smile, her dancing brown eyes, and her infectious laughter made everyone feel better -- her loving family, her kindergarten charges, her long-standing and more recent friends, and even her most casual acquaintances. Teresa loved life and she spread her positivity all around, during both joyous times as well as challenging, uncertain times. She often remarked how she was blessed with so many wonderful life experiences – experiences that were unimaginable to a little girl with five brothers and three sisters growing up on Locust Street, in Toledo, Ohio, during the 1930's.

Teresa graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1945. She married Joseph "Joe" Deak, the boy down the street, in 1949. Their marriage of 62 years, until Joe's death in November, 2011, was a model of partnership, respect, and enduring love and devotion. Together they raised their three sons, Robert Joseph "Bob," William Charles "Bill," and Richard Alan "Rick." In 1960, Teresa continued her academic career enrolling at the University of Toledo where she earned a Bachelor Degree in Education, a Masters Degree, and a Specialist Degree in Early Childhood Education.

Teresa taught kindergarten for 22 years at Meadowvale School in Toledo's Washington Township, retiring in 1988. Years after her retirement, Teresa could still remember the names and faces of virtually all her students. She was always delighted to meet and catch up with the adult versions of her former students and reveled in their many successes.

Teresa was a most gracious and accomplished hostess. She regularly hosted parties, celebrations, and other get-togethers for her extended family and her many friends. She was well recognized for her roast turkey, potato salad, chicken paprikas, caramel popcorn, and her personal-recipe whiskey sours. She was an avid card player and continued playing poker with her friends at Bay Village Retirement Community even after her 98th birthday.

Long a devoted college sports fan, Teresa closely followed Ohio State Football (she particularly enjoyed the Ohio State Marching Band), as well as the athletic teams of Notre Dame, Penn State and the University of Toledo. She enjoyed watching all sorts of professional sports and spent many evenings watching baseball, hockey, and basketball games. She fondly recalled attending her first Major League Baseball Game in which Bob Feller was the starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, and years later met the Cleveland pitcher at a charity golf event sponsored by one of her sons. Teresa was an excellent Baseball Scorekeeper for her sons' baseball games and for the softball games of her Marco Island friends.

Teresa was the daughter of Wanda Polcyn Justen and Charles Joseph Justen. She is survived by her sons, Robert (Mary Lou Bale), William (Karen Kramer), Richard (Maryann O'Conor); her grandchildren, Randall (Rachel), Ryan (Casey), Andrew (Erin Broderick), Katherine (Jesse Cartee), Teresa, and Kevin; five great-grandchildren; and her brother, Jerry.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Blade on Jul. 13, 2025.

Memories and Condolences
for Teresa Deak

4 Entries

Angela Zimmerman

July 24, 2025

Mrs. Deak was my kindergarten teacher, and that of my younger brother as well. We could not have asked for a better start in life! Mrs. Deak told my mom not to worry but I would never be good at math (I'm terrible at it, actually) but to keep an eye on my reading because I was exceptional (which I turned out to be, reading at a college level by fifth grade). It was as if Mrs. Deak could see the future of her tiny charges unfolding between the ages of five and six. She did her best to guide parents so parents could guide their children. I took my exceptional reading and turned it into to career as a copywriter and editor and short fiction writer -- all because when I was five Mrs. Deak look at me, gave me a hug, and said "You're really good at this!" I can't even imagine the lives she touched, changed, and enriched over her lifetime. I am very, very, very lucky to have spent my kindergarten in her classroom.

Donna Nichols

Planted Trees

Jeff and Lynne Edelson

Planted Trees

Kim and Sue Dubendorfer

July 14, 2025

What a special Kindergarten teacher she was. So sweet and kind. She told students on their first day, when the parents brought them to her room, that she would be wearing that exact same outfit the next day, so they would remember her, trying to put the kids at ease. She lived in our neighborhood and our kids just thought that was the coolest thing.

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