Theresa "Terry" Annette Nieman

Theresa (Terry) Annette Nieman (nee Gonka) of Sun City Center, FL went to be with Our Lord on August ­­16th, 2024 at age 95. Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, she lived her adult life in Clarence, NY before she retired to Florida to capture the bountiful sunlight. 

Always active, she was a wife, mother of four and had a successful career as an administrative assistant working for top executives even right out of high school.  Crafter, Christmas cookie baker and entrepreneur were only some of the job titles she added along the way. Her exceptional office and organizational skills were something she used in all the areas of her life. She had been known to use her color-coded dots and folders to keep everything in order.

As retirement arrived, she made her home in Sun City Center with the warm weather. She could often be found line dancing at the Clubhouse, meeting friends and swimming at the pool or outside gardening around the house. She belonged to Prince of Peace Catholic Church where she was very devoted to the mass and the Eucharist.  She had a special friend in St. Anthony who she called “Tony” - he had to help her find a lost item more than once or twice.  She also attended Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Wimauma. There she had a special love for the children and spent many hours making her own curriculum, getting donated supplies as well as teaching CCD classes. She occasionally led seminars for adults with what she called Dynamics for Living – a compilation from hundreds of sources with advice and inspiration for having a successful, joyous life. Her pencils, paper and scissors were never beyond arms reach.  She loved the newspaper (sometimes read two a day) and would cut out articles on any topic that she thought would be useful. Care packages sent to her children and grandchildren were never without an article or two (or more!)

Theresa was a very creative person, loved any type of DIY project like refinishing furniture that she found, reupholstering chairs, creating her famous permanent bread baskets from bread dough, sewing everything from clothes to curtains and passing on those skills along with cooking, crocheting, knitting and home skills to her family.  She was most proud of her beautiful cross-stitch pictures, made with love in each stitch - they remain a permanent gift. And in her free time, she loved Jumble and Cryptoquip word puzzles, the Hallmark Channel and watching football. She played a mean game of Golf (the card game), although she also played a 9-hole golf course for several years. 

She is survived and will be sadly missed by her 4 children: Cynthia Pawlarczyk (Douglas); Judith Albert; Paul Henry Nieman (Debora); Robert Nieman (Irene Anne); her 7 grandchildren: Alexis Arceo (Edgar); Jacob Nieman (Hannah); Megan Nieman, Jessica Beckmann (Chase); Marie Easter (Kelly); Haley Nieman; Kaitlin Nieman and her 6 great grandchildren: Brianna Arceo, Daniella Arceo, Calla Nieman, Audra Nieman, Natalia Arceo and Lucy Beckmann.

A funeral mass will be celebrated on August ­­­­23rd, 2024 at 10:00 A.M. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City Center. Friends are welcome to meet in the church vestibule with the family for one hour prior to the service (9:00 -10:00 A.M.) 

In lieu of flowers (please, the priest at Prince of Peace is highly allergic – no flowers or perfume), donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Suncoast Hospice Care Center – North Pinellas in Palm Harbor, FL.