Terry Gillies-Fear

Terry Gillies-Fear

September 5, 1954—December 13, 2020

“Do Justice. Love Mercy. March Proudly.”  These words guided Terry Fear, a fierce advocate for social justice.  With boldness and a strong moral compass, Terry knew what she was called to do.  She planted herself firmly and deeply at the intersection of Judaism and social justice, believing that one cannot love God without being passionate about justice.  Terry showed her loving family and friends what is possible within a lifetime of good deeds.

Terry is remembered by her family and friends for the passion, generosity, and grace with which she lived her life.  She believed that the world could be more peaceful and habitable, and that she had a responsibility to build interfaith communities to make it so.  Terry leaves behind her grieving family—her husband, Steve; son Matthew and daughter-in-law Abigail Fear; daughter Lauren and son-in-law Josh Oliver; daughter Anna and son-in-law Devon Stevens; grandchildren Josiah, Daniel, and Michael Oliver; Olivia Stevens; brothers-in-law Greg and Brad Fear; nephews Travis, Riley, and Sawyer Fear; dearest friends Judy Kelsheimer; Walter Sommers and the Sommers family; and by the faith and interfaith communities Terry embraced and who embraced her.

Terry’s life and legacy are celebrated; her loss is mourned.

Terry grew up in Imlay City, Michigan, an only child, the daughter of Phyllis and Kent Gillies, and the granddaughter of Ida Anna Terry and Carey E. Terry, editor of the Imlay City Times. Terry’s most treasured childhood memories were her afternoons with grandmother Ida Anna, who watched over her while her mother worked at the local bank, and who cooked Terry’s favorite foods—sugar cinnamon cakes, and sauerkraut.  In homage to her grandmother, Terry  immersed herself in genealogical research, discovering generations of relatives back to 1638, with the names Sawtelles and Farnsworths, ancestors who settled New England and whose cemeteries and graves she visited to learn about her ancestors.

Terry and Steve met in college, sitting outside the student union.  Steve recalls how smart she was and her passion to become a teacher.  After earning her teaching degree from Eastern Illinois University she took a Master’s Degree from Eastern, and a second Master’s  in curriculum instruction from Southern Illinois University.  Terry and Steve shared the fullness of life’s gifts for forty-six years, wanting the best, deepest happiness for one another and their children.  They dedicated their shared life to the Hebrew commandment “tikkun olam,” to repair the world.  In 2016 Terry and Steve drove 1057 miles from their home in Newton, Illinois to the Standing Rock reservation to support protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.  They loaded their car with donated supplies—tarps, ropes, blankets, food, and funds they collected—to support the protest to protect Standing Rock’s sacred ground.

Terry taught elementary and junior high school language arts tor thirty-five years in the Jasper County Unit School System.  Teaching was her passion.  She loved her students, and they adored her.  She had a particular talent to identify students who might be overlooked because of learning difficulties.  Terry inspired students, celebrated their successes, showing them their potential and talents.  Terry declared each year that she had her “best class ever,” and generations of students in the Jasper County System recalled Terry’s inspiring presence in their lives.  Outside the classroom, Terry worked tirelessly to improve teachers’ working conditions.  As Chair of the Teachers Union, she took on the school system, advocating for teachers in grievance procedures and employment disputes.

Terry had great passions and enthusiasms—for the Chicago Cubs and the music of the Eagles and John Prine; for fried green tomatoes and apple kuchen; for a good tuna fish sandwich with extra mayo; for her Australian Shepherd Max and her yellow cat Mazel.  She and her dear friend Judy loved to shop for treasures in antique stores and for designer clothes in consignment stores.  She filled her homes with family photographs and what she called “memory pieces” from her grandmother and from her adopted parents, Louise and Walter Sommers. She loved talking on the phone, unfailingly available at the other end of the line to laugh, to give her wise counsel, and always with something more to say.

Most of all, Terry was passionate about her children’s and grandchildren’s happiness and well-being.  She was an attentive grandmother to her grandchildren, fostering in  them the moral foundation that Ida Anna had given her.  Her grandchildren called her Dadder—a name given by her oldest grandchild, Josiah—and she loved the name, like a beloved stuffed animal.  She loved to hold their hands, give them her Dadder hug, and watched over them as they made their way into the world.

Terry was a seeker, a spiritual person who, according to her dear friend Sister Paula Damiano, was on a “God-quest to find God wherever he could be found.”  Terry converted to Judaism because she loved the faith, the community, the traditions.

She became active in the United Hebrew Congregation, contributing her time and talents to the community, elected to the Board of Trustees, leading Shabbat services, participating in Torah Study, and making sure that the Synagogue was designated as a historic congregation, a sacred space recognized by the Indiana landmarks project.  She loved the beauty and sacredness of the Synagogue, its rich history and prayerful pews, its stained glass windows, and its peaceful sanctuary.

Terry became active in the mission of Candles Holocaust Museum because of her passionate opposition to bigotry and antisemitism in all its forms.  Candles Director Leah Simpson recalls Terry as an “inspiration and joy who knew the inner workings of the Museum and was always an advocate for the Museum’s mission, bringing her creativity to push the Museum in new directions.”  Terry served as a Museum board member, program chair, and docent.  With her dear friend Walter Sommers, who lost numerous family members to the Holocaust, she would teach lessons from the Holocaust, sometimes meeting with groups of seventy-five or more students. The teacher in Terry and the storyteller in Walter combined to create powerful presentations, encouraging students to ask questions, speak openly, and confront religious and ethnic intolerance and prejudice.

Congressman John Lewis’s oft quoted words resonated with Terry: “Make some noise. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”  Nothing held Terry back; she spoke up and out, from her heartfelt obligation to condemn hatred, racism, and antisemitism at every turn.  She marched proudly, participating in the 2017 Women’s march on Washington,  the largest single-day protest in US History for women’s rights, LGBT rights, and racial equality.  Photos of Terry from the march show her wearing the iconic pink pussy hat and getting into some “good trouble.”

A founding member of the Wabash Valley Interfaith Council, Terry imagined possibilities for interfaith dialogue, opportunities for people from different faith traditions to find common ground in issues of social justice.   Arthur Feinsod, President of the Interfaith Council, recalls that “Terry lit the soul of the Council, taught us about ethical values, committed social action and protest; she built bridges between religious faiths to oppose narrow-mindedness and hate.”  Through her work with the Interfaith Council, she met two dear friends, Sister Paula, and Riem Roston—or, as they call themselves, the Daughters of Abraham.  Terry saw the majesty and depth of their religious traditions, and they in hers.  Sister Paula recalls one of her dearest moments with Terry and Steve was during Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival. “Steve had erected a sukkah behind their house, with a view to a wide open space and forest in the distance, for us to eat and pray together. There was something very holy and earthy about that night, sacred and treasured.” And Riem Rostom remembers that Terry was among the first to send her best wishes in Ramadan and Eid and presents at Hanukkah.   “I am a Muslim; she was Jewish. We will always be united as sisters against injustice.”

Terry worked actively and passionately against capital punishment with her friends and colleagues from the interfaith community, writing articles, giving speeches, and attending peaceful vigils in opposition to federal executions in Terre Haute.  In her unrelenting activism against the death penalty, Terry made some “good trouble” as she spoke up against capricious, arbitrary justice, wrote essays, and participated in Zoom meetings—“we are better than vengeance,” she argued, “execution is not the solution,” she insisted, always emphasizing the racist roots in the imposition of capital punishment.  The more Terry learned about the federal executions, the more she made her voice heard, the more she returned to the vigils.  In the summer, she returned with her signs and lawn chair; during Chanukah, she showed up with candles for light and life, healing and hope. And always, she arrived with her prayer book.

Terry was full of prayerful love and good life, full of deep wisdom. The world is a better place because of Terry’s loving presence. Family and friends say that it is difficult to speak about Terry in past tense because her light continues to shine, her words continue to be spoken.  As her son Matthew reflects, “My mom did her part in this life, but she had so much more to do.  What she planted will continue to grow; it is our job now to keep it growing.”  Terry’s family and friends will continue to honor her life:  Do Justice. Love Mercy. March Proudly.

Memorial contributions may be made to the United Hebrew Congregation Building Fund.