THERESA (MUSZIK) VOORDE

June 11, 1912 - Dec. 26, 2007
SOUTH BEND - Theresa Muszik Voorde, daughter, devoted wife and loving mother died peacefully on Wednesday, Dec. 26, in Our Lady of Peace Hospital, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, South Bend. Theresa, 95, died as the result of complications following a fall on Dec. 7th. Theresa's parents, Julius and Frances (Retek) Muszik, immigrated from Hungary to South Bend in the early 1900s. The second daughter, she was always at her mother's side, learning housekeeping, cooking and baking - skills that later earned Theresa the 1949 Pillsbury Midwest Regional Bake-off Championship.

Theresa attended Kaley and Linden schools before graduating from South Bend Central High ('31).

It was there she met her lifelong love and future husband, Edward F. "Babe" Voorde. They married at St. Stephen's Catholic Church on November 6, 1937. God, family, friends and politics were constants in Theresa's life. She developed a lifelong love of sports, as a devoted wife to Babe who served as assistant to Washington High football coach Bernie Witucki and scouted for Notre Dame's Frank Leahy in the early years of their marriage. For nearly six decades, she rarely missed an Irish home football game, and cheered enthusiastically for both ND and Indiana basketball.

At the outset of World War II, Theresa and Babe, their daughter Frances (1939) and son Edward Jr. (1940) lived with Babe's parents on Ford Street, helping with expenses and saving money. Theresa was pregnant with a second daughter, Charlotte (1942), when they purchased their first home, a beautiful white farmhouse on Prairie Avenue. John was a victory baby in 1945, Chris followed in 1948, then Paul (1949) and Theresa (1951). When the older children enrolled at St. Patrick's, the family parish, the Voordes found a home at 132 South Chapin Street, walking distance to school and town. They remained there well into the 70s. Theresa was a full-time member of the team when her husband was elected mayor in 1955. Though she continued to tend to the home-front first and foremost, she fondly recalled how she and her husband nightly shared each day's events at the kitchen table over coffee and baked goods.

Widowed at 48, with seven children, the oldest a senior at St. Mary's College, the youngest only nine, Theresa suddenly found herself, by necessity, working outside the home as well. She supported her growing children in a number of jobs, retiring at 75 after 27 years in the St. Joseph County Voter Registration Office. Theresa never considered herself exceptional. She lived to serve family and friends, always smiling and always ready to go, go, go. She loved people. She enjoyed every new experience. With her husband and children she had unique opportunities to meet presidents, movie stars, even a Pope. With her children, she traveled to visit her roots in Europe and across the United States, but she was always ready to return home, to South Bend, which she loved.

Theresa was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Julius; her sister, Helen Sieron; and by her eldest daughter, Frances.

She is survived by her brother, Paul Muszik of South Bend; her sister, Frances Eckenrode of Hummelstown, PA; and her surviving children, Edward, Charlotte, John and Christine, all of South Bend, Paul Voorde of Mishawaka and Theresa (Eric) Ellett of North Liberty; as well as 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Friends may call at Kaniewski Funeral Home from 2 to 8 p.m. today, Dec. 30, with the Rosary at 4 p.m. Friends may also visit for one hour preceding a concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial at St. Patrick's Catholic Church at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 31, which will be followed immediately by burial at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Theresa's honor may be made to Our Lady of Peace Hospital at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, 811 E. LaSalle Ave., South Bend, IN 46617; or to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, P.O. Box 630342, Baltimore, MD 21263.

Published by South Bend Tribune from Dec. 29 to Dec. 30, 2007

03/08/2023 EJS