Teri Lynn Bowman-Duschell
“We love you to heaven and back”
Teri Bowman-Duschell was the kind of person you never had to wonder about—if she had an opinion, you were probably going to hear it. She was fiercely independent, brutally honest, funny, stubborn, and deeply devoted to the people she loved. Born August 3, 1966, in Flint, Michigan, Teri built a life centered around her family, her work in healthcare, and the things that made her happy—from traveling and collecting old lanterns to somehow finding room for ten Christmas trees every December.
As a mom she was strict but caring. Stoic, but everyone in a a while she’d let her guard down and get all lovey dovey. As a grandmother she was the bees knees. Those grandkids adored her as she did them. Making it to almost every sporting event, making the holidays extra fun for them and telling them she’d buy them new nails/doordash gift cards if they came over and scrubbed her base boards. As a wife: On September 21, 2012, Teri married Bill Duschell in Gordonville, Missouri. Their marriage was perhaps best summarized by something Teri herself said near the end of her life: “Bill will do anything for me.” And he did.
He took care of her when she absolutely hated needing to be taken care of, sleeping beside her, helping her with everything, and being there holding her hand at the end.
Her smile.
If there were enough words to accurately describe that smile I’d put them here. It lit up a room, doesn’t suffice.
Her family was the center of her world.
Being loved by Teri didn’t necessarily mean being coddled. She would give you advice, tell you what she thought, and probably tell you when she thought you were doing something stupid. The frustrating part was that her advice usually worked.
And then there were the little things—the things that don’t normally make it into an obituary but somehow become the things we will miss about her the most.
Teri loved traveling. She loved mornings on the beach. She loved going to the casino (even though she said it was Bill who wanted to go all the time) and, especially, winning. She loved old lanterns and the color royal blue.
And she loved Christmas.
Not normal-person Christmas, either.
Teri had ten Christmas trees filling her house every December. Because apparently one tree—or two, or five—simply wasn’t enough.
Those are the details that made her Teri.
The “ordinary” things that made her happy:
•Family dinners
•Big Brother
•Survivor
•A good batch of brownies
•Cut up strawberries
•A cool fall day
•Trail rides on the side by side
•Her “spot” on the couch
•taco Tuesdays
•A cold crispy diet dr. Pepper
•porch swinging
•a chopped salad from subway
•a clean house
•oh CARDINALS BASEBALL
•a beer with friends
Cancer was part of Teri’s story, but it does not get to be the story of Teri.
Throughout her battle, she would say, “It’s just something I have to go through.”
That was Teri.
She didn’t want pity. She didn’t want to be treated like she couldn’t handle something. And she certainly didn’t want to ask for help.
Even during the hardest days of her life, she was still trying to be herself.
We hope you look at the pictures of her life and realize how full it really was and that inspire you to fill your cup of life too.
-Family of Teri Bowman-Duschell
MIMI ERA
mom feeding monkeys
Mimi era
Mimi era
“Love you the most, I win”
Celebration of life video
The world Teri knew
Family milestones in gold, history for context
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