Terry is survived by his wife, Shirley Ann Dunn Orlowski, of Peoria, AZ. Surviving children are Christine (James) Gibbons of Kent, WA; Shelley (Michael) Franco of Trophy Club, TX; and Gerri (Joe) Cowden of Panama City Beach, FL. Grandchildren are Alexandria (Chris) Ray of Tallahassee, FL, James Gibbons of Costa Mesa, CA; Jeremiah Cowden of Panama City Beach, FL; Jonathan Gibbons of Kent, WA, and his pride & joy, great-grandson, Theodore Nolan Ray of Tallahassee, FL. Terry is preceded in death by parents Henry (Hank) and Bernice Orlowski, brothers William and Lee Orlowski, and son Thomas Orlowski.
Terry was born on June 13, 1943, in Duluth, MN, and was the oldest of three brothers. He graduated from Morgan Park High School in 1961. Terry completed technical school and shortly after, married Jean Sharon Olsen. Terry moved to St. Louis, MO, to take a position at McDonnell Douglas. Terry’s career took him to IBM in Binghamton, NY, then to Link in Houston, TX, where he participated in the recovery effort of Apollo 13. Daughter Christine and son Thomas were born in Texas City, TX, in 1967 and 1970, respectively. Terry remarried on September 1, 1982, to Shirley Ann Henderson and gained two daughters, Shelley Ann and Gerri Ellen Henderson. Grandchildren followed: Alexandria Danielle in 1992, James Thomas in 1994, Jeremiah Joseph in 1995 and Jonathan Terrance in 1996. And in 2020, a year filled with fear and uncertainty, was brightened by the birth of his first great-grandson, Theodore (Teddy) Nolan. Terry and Shirley settled in Peoria, AZ, where they have spent the past 28 years. He was the loving patriarch of our family, always with a ready smile and a razor-sharp wit. He was devoted to his wife, all things family, his coffee buddies, physical fitness, poker, and his latest passion, pickleball.
A celebration of life service is scheduled for Thursday, June 17, 2021, at 2:00 pm at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City, AZ. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Terry’s life. Dress code is “Arizona Casual.” In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The American Melanoma Foundation at https://melanomafoundation.org/donate or the USA Pickleball Association at https://usapickleball.org/get-involved/donations/.
The family would like to sincerely thank the 4th floor nursing staff at Banner Boswell Hospital who were so caring and made sure he was comfortable.
