Theresa Firus

THE BELLE OF THE BALL, OUR TERRY DOLLY

Theresa Mary Firus, or Terry as she was known to friends and family, passed away at age 99 on September 22, 2025 from complications due to congestive heart failure. She is survived by her daughter Randi Firus (Tim Bremer) and sister Patricia Anderson. She was preceded in death by her husband Robert Firus.

Terry was born on Feburary 19, 1926 to Ignace and Mary Adamek in Jablonove, in a small town in then Czechoslovakia. When Terry was just a toddler, her father left Europe for the Canadian prairies to work towards setting up a family farm outside of Eastend, Saskatchewan. At age 11, Terry was reintroduced to Ignace when she and her mother made the voyage by ship to join him in Canada once he had attained the financial resources and stability to bring them over. It was good timing, what with the threat of war was spreading across Europe. As a child in Canada, she helped on the farm and studied in a rural one-room schoolhouse where children of all grade levels received their lessons at the same time by one teacher. She became a big sister at age 15 when baby Patricia (Pat) was welcomed into the world. Terry went on to attend Normal School for primary school teacher training and at one point taught in the same one-room multi-grade schoolhouse where she studied.

She met her future husband Robert Firus (Bob) in the town of Herbert, Saskatchewan, where she had obtained an elementary school teaching position. Following in the footsteps of his older siblings, Bob was at that time taking his turn as editor of the Herbert Herald, the town’s weekly newspaper which his family owned. After Terry and Bob were married in 1952, they moved to Vancouver, British Colombia for Bob to attend University and study accounting. Terry supported the family as an elementary school teacher while Bob completed his degree and worked part time setting type at a major Vancouver newspaper. She stopped teaching when their daughter Randi was born and a couple years later the family, tired of the rainy weather in the Pacific Northwest, moved to sunny Southern California. They first lived in an apartment in the Hollywood area, where Terry loved taking little Randi to the park in her stroller, both wearing sunglasses, mingling with the movie stars. In 1965, the family relocated to the suburbs in Orange County where they purchased their forever home in Cypress, CA.

Terry was a first-rate homemaker and always in pursuit of excellence. She took one Cypress Parks and Rec course after another to broaden her homemaking skills. From Chinese cooking to candy making to flower arranging to cake decorating. She began sewing and made mother-daughter coordinating outfits when Randi was a preschooler; later, it was Randi’s many baton twirling costumes and cheerleading and drill team uniforms. Terry was an accomplished pie baker, an art she learned from her mother. There was always a freshly baked pie on the glass-domed cake stand on the kitchen countertop. Her extraordinary pies and tarts were requested at every potluck and dinner party the family attended. She was thrilled to deliver. “Good” and "enough” were two words Terry never uttered together. No shortcuts. Her work ethic was unwavering. You would not dare suggest she enjoy a day of relaxation. Even after Randi left home for university. Even after Bob’s retirement. One activity that took hours and hours of her time in her last couple decades was maintaining her beautiful flower garden. The pride of the neighborhood. A labor of love that.

Her nickname was “Terry Dolly,” given to her by Bob and one she loved. Without exception, she made an extraordinary effort to get “dolled up” wherever she went. She was a former beauty queen with a lifetime dedication to fitness and her figure. In her later years, she particularly looked forward to dressing up for the weekly Wednesday night big band dance at the Cypress Senior Center that she and Bob began attending after his retirement. She always made sure Bob wore a tie that matched her bedazzled outfit. The belle of the ball. Whenever she was asked what she wanted for Christmas or Birthday or Mother’s Day she’d automatically reply “nothing” but would invariably follow with .... “something sparkly.”

Terry was “the hostess with the mostest.” Bob was one of six children and the family’s many Canadian relatives were eager to visit after the move to the home of Disneyland. And there was Terry, whipping up massive group breakfasts, lunches and dinners day after day. "Who’s ready for seconds?” she would always ask. Canadian prairies hospitality was at her core. At the weekly Senior dance, Terry happily volunteered for kitchen duties setting up refreshments and cleanup, and she and Bob took it upon themselves to perform as quasi “hosts,” greeting all who entered by name and welcoming them with a handshake or hug. She was chatty by nature, an excellent conversationalist, and always made the rounds at every social occasion to make sure everyone felt included.

Family was important to Terry. After moving to California, every summer vacation was spent packing up the car and making the long drive to either Saskatchewan to visit Terry’s mom and dad or to Vancouver to visit Bob’s mom and several siblings. When Bob retired, they fulfilled his lifelong dream to travel the world – the British Isles, most of Western Europe, the Nordic countries and Russia, Turkey and Greece, North Africa and China – but also drove up to Canada every year while Terry’s mom was still living. Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the late-2000s. When his mind and body had declined so much that he required a skilled nursing facility for his final almost two years, Terry was by his side every day from morning to night, devoting herself to assisting in his care until he passed away in 2012.

A former physical education teacher, Terry was a formidable athlete. Every day began with a 1950s calisthenics exercise routine, even throughout her 90s. Playing sports came naturally to her and she and Bob enjoyed many a weekend playing tennis or golf together. Both Terry and Bob would boast about her golf game. Especially the times she’d out-drive one of the guys in the foursome off the tee. All the family were sports fans. Even after Bob was gone, every evening Terry’s television was tuned in to one game or another, from Angels baseball to Kings hockey to Rams football to UCLA football and basketball.

That was Terry Dolly. Uncompromising and indefatigable, sporty yet a homemaker through and through, ever sociable … and a little sparkly.

She was one of a kind and we will remember her fondly.

A private family gathering was held in remembrance of her long and satisfied life.