Ellen Theresa Coldiron

Ellen Theresa Coldiron was born on November 4, 1937 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elmira, and was named after a nun named Ellen Theresa Conly who worked there. All four of Theresa’s children by Clifford were also born at St. Joseph’s, where Ms. Conly still worked at the time of their births.

Theresa passed away June 25, 2017 in Tyler, Texas.

Theresa suffered two strokes and a heart attack. She remained peacefully unconscious in hospice care for a week before dying.

Theresa’s parents, Francis Clarence Peckham and Gertrude Lillian Leach, preceded her, as did all of her siblings.

She married Charles Edward Moore, with whom she had a son, Charles Edward Moore, Jr.

She later married Clifford Ross Coldiron on June 3, 1960 in Caton, New York. Clifford Coldiron died in 2000 in Longview, Texas. Clifford and Theresa had four children who survive them: Alan Drew, Mark Douglas, Marcella Lynn, and Clifford William.

Theresa’s beloved Chihuahua, Miss Ellie, now lives with daughter Marcella.

After moving to Houston, Texas, with Clifford and their family, she worked for Pilgrim Cleaners from 1976 to 1991, and then at Community Cleaners with son Cliff (Kip).

Theresa and Clifford later moved to Gilmer, TX. After Clifford’s death, Theresa moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, to live near her niece Pat.

Returning to Texas in her later years, Theresa lived in Grapeland and then Tyler in East Texas to be near several of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Among the family traditions Theresa established was homemade pizza night, which was often held on Friday nights when her kids were younger. In more recent years, the pizza tradition has morphed into a holiday tradition, with homemade pizza on Christmas Eve.

Her kitchen skills went well beyond pizza, though. Ask family members about favorite dishes and you’ll hear enthusiastic praise for Theresa’s blackberry cobbler, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and butter-fried chicken. She never hosted or attended a family gathering without ensuring that a graham cracker pie was available for son Mark! And it was a rare gathering where Theresa’s dinner rolls weren’t featured on the menu.

In younger years, Theresa enjoyed crafting and teaching ceramics. Her collection of ceramic Santa Claus figurines paid tribute to her own skill, as well as her sister Marian’s.

Theresa will be greatly missed my all who knew her.