Teresa Marie Thacker Haskin
Yorktown, Va. – Teresa Marie Thacker Haskin, 63, of Yorktown, Virginia, passed peacefully on the morning of Saturday, February 28th, surrounded by family in her home.
She spent her time on Earth creating joy, educating children, and fostering meaningful connections with everyone she met.
She created a legacy that will be cherished by everyone lucky enough to know her.Teresa took pride in maintaining a home in which everyone felt welcome – where the scent of her world-famous fresh-baked cookies greeted you at the doorway, paired with the sounds of funk, Dave Matthews, or unseasonably early Christmas music. And when music played, she smiled and danced.
Teresa was born on December 5th, 1962, in Newport News, Virginia. Described by many as a “brainiac,” she graduated as salutatorian from Tabb High School (‘80) before attending James Madison University (JMU), where she was a proud flautist with the JMU Marching Royal Dukes. She attained her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education (‘84) from JMU, and later her Master of Arts in Teaching from Christopher Newport University (‘99). In 1986, Teresa met David Haskin, and they were inseparable from that moment onwards. They were married in 1987 and began their family, raising their seven children just down the street from where she grew up, along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.
Teresa was a proud educator. She served as an English teacher at Yorktown Middle School and later as a kindergarten teacher at Grace Episcopal Day School. She also homeschooled four of her own children and tutored several others. Former students would regularly approach her to sing praises about the positive impact she had on their education.
Combining her passion for education with her love for music, she served as the fife instructor for the Fifes and Drums of York Town from 2004 to 2014. During the summer, she could often be seen dressed in colonial garb, marching alongside the corps in historic Yorktown.
A woman of faith, she was an active member of St. Mark Lutheran Church and had previously attended Grace Episcopal Church, maintaining many close friendships across both parishes.
She loved an outdoor shower. She loved shelling and sunbathing (“turtling”). She loved big festive earrings. She loved baking for family and friends. She loved a full and boisterous home. She loved rereading her favorite books annually. She loved decorating for every holiday. And if she met you, she loved you, too.
She is survived by her loving husband of 38 years, David; her children, whom she adored: Trace, Nicholas (Paige), Ian (Nicky), Claire, Rebekah, Zhen, and Michael; her father, Bobby (Cathy) Thacker; her brothers, Scott (Ellen) Thacker and Brian (Laurie) Thacker; her lifelong best friend, Sandy (Mike) Mills; and many beloved family members and friends.
She was predeceased by her mother, Sandra (Sonny) Forbes.
A memorial service will be held at St. Mark Lutheran Church, 118 Old York-Hampton Hwy, Yorktown, VA 23692, on Saturday, March 21, at 2 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Teresa’s name can be made to causes that she was passionate about and contributed greatly to in her life:
• Love Without Boundaries, which provides everything from lifesaving medical care and nourishing meals to safe foster families and educational opportunities to children in need. https://www.lwbkids.org/
• Operation Smile, whose mission is to provide life-changing surgery for people born with cleft lip and cleft palate and other surgical conditions. https://www.operationsmile.org/
