Terry Brennan

Terry Campbell Coverdale Brennan was born on February 4, 1942 in Long Beach, CA to her parents Jean McFarland Coverdale and Gordon Keith Coverdale.

At an early age, Terry could win the hearts of everyone around her. During her life as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend and journalist, she was most renowned as a storyteller.

Terry knew how to entertain, inform, engage and spark emotion. Her stories, sense of humor and contagious laughter drew people to her. It was not unusual for people to pull up chairs to Terry's kitchen table at the Brennan farm home in Mansfield, MO and sit for hours just to listen and laugh with Terry.

To quote her sister Jeanie, "To know Terry for five minutes was to love Terry for a life time."

And for her lifetime, Terry lived with great love, passion, kindness, generosity and commitment.

As a journalism student at SMU in Dallas TX, Terry worked as an intern for the Dallas Morning News. Her first beat assignment was the Amusement Department; a perfect fit for Terry's personality. After SMU's graduation, Terry began her early career as a general assignment reporter with the Dallas Times Herald. During her time at the city desk, JFK was assassinated and she was assigned coverage of the Lee Harvey Oswald burial. Her writing earned her recognition and awards, most notably the Media Award from the America Red Cross for her compassionate report on flooding in South Dallas.

Thomas Henry Brennan caught Terry's eye and affection while he was a pre-law student at SMU. He later became the love of her life. They married in 1963 and celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary on May 31st, in spite of many friendly wagers that were made by their wedding party!

In 1974, they packed up their Texas flag and followed their dreams to Mansfield, MO to a farm between Mansfield and Ava on Bryant Creek. The 100-year-old house on the farm was deemed "uninhabitable." Terry met the challenge like everything in her life, with determination, and made the house a home for their three children Donald, Rebecca and Claire.

While fellow Texas friends and family voiced concern of their move from big city life in Texas to the country roads in southern Missouri, Terry's love for Tom as well as country life grew stronger each year. She often spoke romantically of the meandering creek that flowed through their land, of the glorious outstretched fields and the peacefulness of the countryside. She even endeared herself to the cattle.. .when they were behaving.

Their door at the farm house was always open to friends and family and Terry made sure you felt welcomed with good food, lots of laughter and of course a story or two. Being a place you felt welcomed, many friends (and felines) called the Brennan's place home for awhile. Whether their stay was weeks or years, Terry had a place for them at her kitchen table and in her heart.

Terry had self-proclaimed love for... a good laugh, an engaging story, anything and everything English, gardening, a page-turning book, genealogy and the great blessings we have living in the United States of America.

In the same respect, Terry had no room in her life for negativity, poor manners, or to not have an opinion on important matters!

In November of 2000, when Terry was first diagnosed with breast cancer, she met the challenge with a healthy defiance. She was able to fight this disease with her strong faith and her positive attitude. Terry had a love for life that was obvious to all those who knew her.

Recently Terry and Tom had to move to Springfield, MO to be closer to medical care for Terry. A move, according to Terry, that was much harder for them to make than the move from Texas to Missouri.

As a young girl, Terry was taught to dream. She never stopped dreaming for not just herself but for others. Her final dream was for her grandchildren to continue to know her through shared stories and laughter.

Terry was raised in the Episcopal Church before converting to Catholicism in 1973. Terry attended St. Leo's Catholic Church in Ava, MO prior to attending Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Mansfield, MO.

Terry was preceded in death by her father, Gordon Keith Coverdale.

She is survived by her husband, Thomas Brennan of Springfield, MO. Children: Donald Brennan and wife Carla, San Antonio, TX; Rebecca Schrock and husband Wally of Nixa, MO; and Claire Spence and husband Robert of Springfield, MO. Six Grandchildren: Margaret, Thomas and Patrick Finnegan Brennan all of San Antonio, TX and Robert, Thomas and Alexander Spence all of Springfield, MO. Grandchild number 7 who will be named Terry is due to be born in November 2007 to Becky and Wally. Her mother, Jean Bentley, Dallas, TX; sister, Jeanie Powell, Houston, TX; step-sister: Camille Brennan, Dallas, TX; step-brother, Russell Bentley, Brownwood, TX; Sister-in-law, Dawn Maloney and husband Thomas, Rye, NY; Brother-in-law, Lane Brennan, Sausalito, CA.

Visitation and prayer service will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday, September 14, 2007 in Herman H. Lohmeyer Funeral Home, 500 E Walnut St, Springfield, MO. Memorial services will be at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, September 15, 2007 in Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Mansfield, MO. Online condolences can be made at www.hhlohmeyer.com.

Memorial contributions can be made to Citizens Development Center 8800 Ambassador Row Dallas, TX 75247 or Camp-Re-New-All, c/o Father Paul Wightman, Rt 6 Box 6700, Ava, MO 65608.