Montauk Village Association

Normally people are sad to share the news of the passing of a loved one, but a smile breaks through my tears every time I think of my wonderful great Aunt Teresa and the mark she made on this world and the legacies she left behind.

She was a woman before her time. From a young age she possessed the courage of her own convictions and was a true renaissance woman. Teresa was smart, strong, loving, generous beyond belief, and above all, she was kind. She was one of the kindest persons I’ve ever known.

Teresa came from a large Irish family and every one of us were the recipients of her marvelous generosity. From her Brooklyn roots to the life she forged for herself in Montauk, she touched so many lives. My Dad was her biggest fan and they had a beautiful bond. The reflection of that love changed the course of his life. Of all our lives. Montauk would become a place that we all have come to know and love because of her.

Teresa was a beautiful woman, both inside and out. When you spent time with her, you knew you were somebody extra special. Her enthusiasm for life was palpable and contagious. She was a woman of faith and a good Catholic. She was a eucharistic minister at Saint Therese in Montauk and loved this church so much.

Coming to Montauk in the early 1960s, Teresa and her dear friend, Eleanor Ehrhardt, had the vision to buy land and build a home in the Colloden area when it was only dunes and beach. She was a professional artist and the youngest art director at Norcross greeting cards. Next she worked at Random House and had the pleasure to work with Charles Schultz, collaborating and illustrating Charlie Brown and his Peanuts gang in dozens of children’s books. She was a fabulous painter in her own right and her paintings have won numerous awards and accolades both here and around the world. She opened the Irish Country Loft on Gosman’s Dock in the late 80s and ran a successful business there for over twenty years. Teresa loved the Montauk community and shared her artistic and business talents as the President of the Montauk Village Association.

In 1991, Teresa's dear friend, Mary Gosman, penned a thank you to her friends in Montauk for sending her beautiful flowers and get well cards while she was in the hospital.  She said “especially Terry Flanagan, for the lovely painting, “The Hills of Home”.  She said it brought a flood of tears and nothing like tears to release the human emotions.  “I don’t know how long I will be on this good earth.  I know it won't be easy leaving Montauk.  My Irish intuition tells me I will be back every now and then, not as a ghost, just a voice in the wind.  Be sure you are listening”.

Teresa now rests up on Fort Hill near Mary, Rita, and Roberta Gosman.  Together I’m sure they are visiting Montauk and Ireland and all the other places they loved to travel. Singing their songs and raising a glass of champagne to their eternal life.  Thank you Teresa for making your home a place of “Céad Mile Fáilte” and for giving us the gift of your love.  

If you’d like to help the world remember aunt Teresa, please feel free to donate in her memory here. All of the money will be donated to the Montauk Village Association, a group that meant so much to her as their mission is to make the town a more beautiful place, just as she made the world a more beautiful place.