Therese Marie Britts

Therese Marie Britts, passed away with a smile as Jesus escorted her into our Father’s House. She was a mother, grandmother, great- grandmother, coach, Girl Scout leader, teacher, scholar, and friend. She touched so many lives with her gracious gifts of love and kindness. Therese loved sports and enjoyed coaching her daughters in softball, basketball and volleyball. In her spare time, she reveled in the outdoors, fishing on the pontoon boat and relaxing at her lake home she loved so much. She believed and lived by the Bible verse, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” ~Matthew 25:40. She clothed, sheltered, and fed many troubled youth. She opened her home, shared her family to those less fortunate, and taught her family the meaning of blessed. Every Christmas she would always have spare gifts under the tree for any stranger who accepted her invitation to spend the holidays at our house.
She loved to dance. When she went down to the farm in West Alton, MO, she and her brother-in-law Sam would cut a rug in the living room doing the jive. As a youth she would go to the Catholic Youth Center and dance with anyone who would dance with her.
She was a woman of faith who taught science and religion at Sacred Heart Catholic School. She taught all her students that there was no conflict between believing in science and having faith in God. She pursued her love for learning as she got older receiving one master’s degree in Pastoral Care at 68 and working towards a Doctorate in Theology into her 70’s. She loved talking about God and how one lives out their relationship with God in Christ.
In the early 60’s and 70’s, she and her husband Maurice, worked towards racial justice being part of a study group called the interracial league. Striving through dialogue, education and nonviolent protest to bring about racial equity in the twin cities. She was part of the Black Catholic movement in the Archdiocese and taught Just Faith groups at her church Sacred Heart.
She raised nine children and fostered many more. She is survived by Johnice (James) Sallis, Louise Britts, Agnes Pomroy, Lorraine (James) Coan, Cathy (Phil) Axen, Maurice Jr. (Betty) Britts, Therese Salber, Mary Britts, Danny (Carl) Osterlund; grandchildren, Jordan, Jayda, Petronilla, Rita, Robert, Britni, Krista, Nathan, Joshua, Kellen, Cassie, John, Justin, Tony, Ashley, Kyia, Maurice III, Dylan, Julia, LaTanza and Vianne; . She has many great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She was proceeded in death by her husband Maurice Britts, son-in laws’, Robert Pomroy and Ron Salber, Brother Gerald Bailey, Brother-in-Law and Sister-in Law Samuel and Betty Britts.

Private Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM Tuesday, October 6 at the Church of the Sacred Heart.

Please join the family for Mass by going to the Sacred Heart Church website, www.shrmn.org, where Therese's Mass will be live-streamed.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to St. Therese Oxbow.