Theresa Rosa Vert

Theresa Rosa Vert, 85, of Ottawa, Ontario, passed away on August 25, 2024 at Timberwalk Retirement, her beloved retirement community she called “the resort.”

Theresa was born to Johann and Julianna Coufal in the small village of Kleinhöflein, Austria (just outside Vienna) less than a month before the start of WWII. Her early years were that of her father away at war while her mom kept the household together and served food to German soldiers when they came knocking. It also included running in the freezing cold to bomb shelters when the air sirens rang out in the middle of the night.

At age 16, Theresa’s parents sent her to a homestay in England to learn English. She spoke fondly of her homestay family and lessons learned during that trip remarking, “they picked me up, gave me their address, dropped me off in the middle of downtown London and said ‘see you at home!’ By the time I got there, I had a good command of English.”

A few short years later, she immigrated to Canada and, in 1960, married another recent immigrant and survivor of the war, Frank Vert. They settled in Hamilton, Ontario where Theresa worked as a nurse at the General Hospital. She then gave it up to commit herself to raising her children and maintaining the family home in Hamilton. In 1978, the ever-expanding Vert family packed up to move and settle in Ottawa to pursue other opportunities.

Late one evening in 1974, she decided to check on the sleeping children earlier than usual. Seeing smoke pouring from under one bedroom door, she called to Frank who pulled the two sleeping boys out, and the fire department was called. The resulting newspaper headline announced "Mother's Intuition Saves Children".

When her children were older, Theresa became active in the Ottawa community as an aerobic instructor for seniors, and was once featured on the local news. In her spare time, Theresa was a master of old-world domestic arts (dress-making, embroidery, knitting, and crochet) and the culinary arts (schnitzel, goulash, shepherd’s pie, pancake soup, apple strudel, cream horns) – all of which have been attempted by her offspring, but could never be duplicated. Theresa also had a sharp, sometimes dark sense of humor. Regarding her death she joked that she could continue to care for her children by instructing that her ashes be “distributed into 8 egg-timers; I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, it seems only fitting.”

Theresa was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Frank Vert. She is survived by her 8 children: Dave (Carrie), Gerald (Marty), Chris (Susan), Andy (Debbie), Dan, Claudia (André), Patrick (Nadaya), and Michelle (Brian). Theresa was a grandmother to 13: Shauna, Kevin, Michael, Adam, Colin, Darcy, Kieran, Nicole, Amelia, Danika, Sophia, Anthony, and Dylan. She was also a great grandmother to two: Annabelle and Henry. Theresa valued education, hard work, independence, travel, and culture. She passed on those values, ensuring all her children received higher education, had opportunities to see the world, and that they transitioned successfully into adulthood. “It’s only the entire point of parenting” she often said.

Family and friends are invited to Beechwood, Funeral, Cemetery and Cremation Services (280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa) for a Visitation on Friday, September 13^th, 2024, at 12 noon, followed by a Memorial Service in Beechwood’s Chapel at 1 p.m. Interment to follow at Beechwood Cemetery. For those who wish to make a donation in memory, please do so towards the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.