In Memoriam — Teresa Healy (1962–2022)

Author
The Writers' Union of Canada
Type
In Memoriam
Body

Photo of Teresa Healy

Born in England, Teresa Healy was an Irish and Canadian citizen who spent most of her life in Ontario. She died peacefully at age 60 in her home in Brattleboro, Vermont, after five years of living with cancer. Teresa had called Vermont home since 2016. She was an immigrant three times removed from the land of rock, trees, and water.

A political scientist by training, Teresa was the author of Gendered Struggles Against Globalisation in Mexico and the editor of two collections on Canadian politics: Harper Record: 2006-2008 and Harper Record: 2008-2015. Most recently, Teresa was completing a book titled Bounded Solidarity: The Many Faces of Conservatism in Simcoe County, Ontario. A student of liberation theology, she completed a volume of prayer called Prayerful: A Year of Practice.

Teresa was also a well-known singer-songwriter, steeped in the Irish tradition. She recorded She Pushed from Behind: Emily Murphy in Story and Song, and Tangled in Our Dreams with her husband, Tom Juravich, with whom she performed. A poet as well, she penned the chapook Spiralling: A year in verse.

Teresa worked for many years in the Canadian labour movement, including at the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). She taught political economy at universities in Canada and the United States, including Trent University and Carleton University. An avid baker, Teresa delighted family and friends with cakes of all kinds, and her flowers, vegetables, and herbs graced many a gathering in the garden she loved and cared for.