The following was shared with those at Terre's memorial service on 5/1/11:
I’m Shea Johnson, a friend of Terre’s for 20 years. I met Terre in the early 90’s when she was working as a master control operator at KPBS-TV. Back then, my boyfriend, Paul Bain, was the air tape supervisor and he introduced me to Terre. For those of you who don’t know, master control is the heart of a TV station and controls what goes on the air through a giant board of buttons called a switcher. Computers control it all today, but back then all the timing and precision was up to the person at the board. Paul says Terre was awesome. She was reliable, dependable, kind, and did her job well. She was a natural teacher and was able to train others.
I give Terre a big part of the credit for where I am today. I spent 16 years in video at SeaWorld and have been in video at the San Diego Zoo for 3 years now. Back when Terre was at KPBS in 1992, she made sure Paul told me SeaWorld was installing a Jumbotron video screen at the Shamu show and hiring a video crew if I was interested in applying. Video and animals are my true loves, so it sounded like a dream come true. Terre and I were both hired and had a fantastic time at SeaWorld. She met many of her friends there and the video crew was like a family. She kept in touch with many of them for years. I remember Terre would say hello each day to Baby Shamu, who was named Takara. She loved visiting with Takara as well as visiting the dolphins at the dolphin petting pool before and after park hours. It was a peaceful getaway for her.
Terre was an independent and intelligent woman with a great sense of humor and a wonderful laugh. Her passion was film and she got her masters in it and was able to get jobs doing what she loved. Believe me, not many video and film people can say this. Suzanne, another very close video friend of Terre’s, and I saw Terre in the emergency room at the hospital a couple of months ago. Admittedly, Terre was a bit loopy from the medicine they gave her, but she was so excited telling us about how she was going to do a documentary on the problems with hospitals and the healthcare system in a Michael Moore style. She was SO excited and full of that creative energy Suzanne and I will always remember.
When Terre became a mother, her daughter Ruby was her primary focus. She loved Ruby so much and was completely devoted to her. Terre also worked in the UCSD media center at the time where she helped many film and video students with their projects. Suzanne and I would visit her now and then at her UCSD job because the rest of her time was spent with Ruby and Mitch. Suzanne and I really valued getting Terre alone to ourselves and Terre loved it as well, but family always came first. Johnny was born and Terre and Mitch were twice as busy but Terre put her all into it.
At one point, Terre went back to work at SeaWorld when they were installing a new Shamu show called Believe. Terre was hired as a technical director again which means she controlled what was on the screen and direct the camera people, graphics, etc. I remember the opening day of the Believe show. I was at the show shooting it for the PR department. I knew a different person was chosen to direct that show rather than Terre. Minutes before the show was to start, the director had a major medical issue and paramedics had to take her away. Who was going to direct the show? Terre stepped in at the last minute and the show went on for a crowd of over 5,000 people. Some of the SeaWorld management never seemed to truly value her technical abilities, people skills, intelligence, and everything else she had to offer. It was their loss. Those of us who really knew Terre knew she was very special and that’s what mattered.
About the time Terre had her first round of breast cancer, Suzanne and I started making sure the 3 of us found time to get together. Terre loved to get away for good food, good friends, and a glass of wine or margarita. The second round of cancer was a huge shock to everybody. Mitch really stepped it up and was there for Terre day in and day out until the very end. Their love for one another was so deep.
But it really does take a village. So many people helped out taking the kids to and from school, coordinating meals for the family, taking Terre to radiation, and helping with all the annoying paperwork nobody wants to deal with in times of crisis. The outpouring of kindness and love showed how many of you truly cared for Terre. Even toward the end, when Terre had so little energy, her kindness and love came through. She never complained to visitors. I think Mitch got the brunt of this for sure. When Suzanne or I would come for a short visit, Terre would always make sure she said thank you when we left and used her precious energy to blow us a kiss goodbye. We’ll miss you Terre.
