Teresa Fornero, 90, of Cedarburg, Mequon and Kenosha, was called Home to reunite with her beloved Bob, cherished sisters and other loved ones on April 13, 2024. She embodied a youthful exaltation of spirit and a laugh that lit up every room she entered.
Teresa was born on Sunday, January 28, 1934, in Kenosha to Bernice Bernadette Woswillo and Leo Henry Skotski. She grew up in Kenosha, attending St. Casimir Grade School and St. Catherine’s High School in Racine. When asked her favorite subjects, she replied “recess and religion.” That seems to say it all about her fun-loving and open-hearted personality.
Despite growing up as a self-proclaimed tomboy, Teresa had dreams of becoming an airline stewardess. She wound up growing too tall. At the suggestion of her oldest sister Pat, who she idolized, Teresa become an x-ray technician at St. Catherine’s Hospital in Kenosha. Her life’s wish, however, was “marriage and family.”
Teresa met her husband Bob in play practice for the St. George Dramatic Club, where Bob said he liked her smile.
Teresa: “When are you going to ask me to marry you?” Bob: “As a matter of fact, tonight!”
They were married at St. Casimir’s Church in Kenosha on June 1, 1957, where Teresa’s most vivid memory was Bob’s loving kiss at the back of the church. “It seemed to me there was no one there but the two of us.” She got her wish.
In 1959, Teresa and Bob welcomed their only son Daniel Robert, who, according to Teresa, resembled Bob immediately, “wrinkled forehead, receding hairline and all.” She was immensely proud of his later success as a professional trumpet player, a love that began with the Kingsmen Drum and Bugle Corps, which Bob had founded with John Vagnoni.
Teresa was always active in the church, particularly with Shows-a-Poppin at St. Mark’s Catholic Church and later preparing teens to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in Mequon.
Teresa was never happier than when she was up north in Three Lakes, where her Aunt Lucy had found Rustlewood Resort in the early 1960’s. Teresa continued to make memories with multiple generations of family in the Honeymoon Cottage for decades to come. The mighty Green Bay Packers were the other primary source of Teresa’s happiness. She was a season ticket holder since 1962 and passed the tickets on to her treasured only grandchild, Angela Danielle.
Teresa spent her final years with Bob in Cedarburg, where she loved collecting strawberries at the annual Strawberry Festival and officially welcoming new members to the Evergreen Park community.
Teresa said her hope for the future was to “enjoy the beauty of our surroundings.” And that she did. After Bob’s passing in 2019, Teresa moved to sunny southern California, where she spent her final years enjoying her rose garden, the ocean, gatherings with family, and dates with her granddaughter. She got to hear her son perform live for the last time at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre in December 2023. Teresa lived with the wonderful caretakers at Ivy Park at Cerritos, where she passed peacefully with three rosaries in her hand.
Teresa will be deeply missed by her son, Daniel Fornero; daughter-in-law Melinda Fornero and granddaughter, Angela Fornero of Los Angeles, CA.
Teresa was preceded in death by her husband, Bob Fornero and sisters, Pat Golen and Leona Werner.
Service Date May 13, 2024
SERVICE LOCATION St. Elizabeth Catholic Church
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, May 13, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 4816 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI.
Inurnment will follow in St. George Cemetery.
