Theresa A. Syslo (Teri) of Mathews County, Virginia, departed this vale of tears after bouts with horrific, debilitating maladies, on the morning of Nov. 10, 2019.
Mrs. Syslo was born on Feb. 17, 1942, to John and Bertha Matus of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she attended the Holy Ghost Parochial School and Bethlehem Catholic High School, graduating in the Class of 1960. Teri, a graduate nurse from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then pursued her career, principally serving as an operating room nurse assistant to open-heart surgeons. During her surgical nursing career, she worked with nationally famous doctors, Dr. John Kirklin, a pioneer heart surgeon at the University of Alabama Hospital at Birmingham, and Dr. Harold Tsugi, an innovative thoracic surgeon at the Los Robles Regional Hospital in Thousand Oaks, California, performing, at the time, leading-edge technological cardiac surgical procedures. Later, she became the operating room supervisor and instructor at the Arlington Hospital, now the Hospital of Northern Virginia, and the operating room supervisor for the University of Connecticut John Dempsey Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, where she took to Nordic skiing with a passion. Stylish and sophisticated, Teri joined Trans World Airlines (TWA) as a hostess, flying domestically between the continent Midwest and San Francisco, California, where she met and married her husband Joe, an Air Force pilot. For 50 years, they traveled together extensively, crossing all of the imaginary lines marking the parameters of the earth, visiting both exotic and ordinary lands. Her favorite place was Madrid, Spain, where they lived for three years, and where she became a frequent spectator at Las Ventas, an ardent fan of the Zarzuela, and a connoisseur of Spanish cuisine; she cried on departure.
In more recent years, Teri proved herself as a successful businesswoman, achieving Medallion Status in Agency for residential real estate in Potomac, Maryland. They settled finally in Virginia’s “River Country” where Teri excelled in sailing, fishing, gardening, and just plain enjoying life. We will miss her bright smile and her chapeaus for every occasion.
Teri is survived by husband Joe; her brother, John Matus (Rosemary), numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
The family will receive friends on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Hogg Funeral Home, Gloucester Point. A Catholic Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, in the Church of St. Therese, 6262 Main Street, Gloucester, Va. 23061. Interment in Arlington National Cemetery will be held at a later date.
In her remembrance, contributions payable to Theresa A. Matus Syslo Nursing Scholarship; Bethlehem Catholic High School, Attn: Advancement (Theresa A. Matus Syslo ’60 Memorial Nursing Scholarship), 2133 Madison Ave., Bethlehem, Pa. 18017. Services under the direction of Hogg Funeral Home.