EULOGY
Theresa Bazinaw
By Jeannette Doud

It is the season of the year that Theresa Bazinaw loved the most, when the landscape took on the signs of spring and the wooded areas became covered with wildflowers.

Theresa, the daughter of the late Alec and Catherine Bazinaw, was born on Mackinac into a very large family of eight brothers and three sisters. Over the years, she worked very hard caring for all her family members, especially her parents. Theresa had a heart of gold.

When family and friends gathered to pay their last respects, the altars of Ste. Anne's were banked with fresh flowers, once again reminding us all, what a wonderful person Theresa was.

She was a great volunteer who cleaned the church and the altars for many years. Memories never to be forgotten. For the past five years, Theresa made her home at Mackinac Straits Hospital's long term care facility in St. Ignace, where everybody loved her.

Six nephews, Bobby Joe and Brett Horn, Jack Arthur Perault, Clayton Bazinaw, and Dean and Jimmy Gillespie carried their Aunt Theresa to her final resting place in the Island cemetery.

Theresa mothered all the children of Mackinac. She was especially fond of Olivia Chambers, and would often visit her at the Chambers' Gatehouse in Stonecliffe. Whenever we had a community function, Theresa would be the caregiver for the little tots so that the parents could enjoy their dinner.

Let us not forget those wonderful community bazaars, where money was raised to help support Island charities. Always in December, Theresa and her niece, Sylvia, would go house to house selling raffle tickets.

While at the hall during the event, she and her good friend, Mary Rogers, were in charge of the sundae booth, where they made delicious chocolate milkshakes. These are the wonderful memories of Theresa. She was always there to help someone.

Tuesday, May 16, Father Rey Garcia, S.J., pastor of Ste. Anne's, celebrated Mass for Theresa as family and friends paid their final respects. A fitting tribute to a person who gave so much to her family, friends, and her community.

Theresa is survived by two brothers, Joseph "Snapper" Bazinaw of Mackinac Island and Ronald "Cushion" Bazinaw of Phoenix, Arizona; many nieces and nephews, and a host of friends.

For Theresa:

"A rose once grew where all could see,

sheltered beside a garden wall.

And, as the days passed swiftly by,

it spread its branches, straight and tall.

One day, a beam of light shone through,

a crevice that had opened wide.

The rose bent gently toward its warmth,

then passed beyond to the other side.

Now, you who deeply feel its loss,

be comforted, the rose blooms there.

Its beauty even greater now, nurtured by God's own loving care."