Theresa's Retirement Party
(In the following photos, department faculty and staff are identified by their current position and which degree they obtained at UNB. Former students are identified by the degree they obtained at UNB.)
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| Theresa with former and current heads of the department. Left to right: Angus Hamilton, Theresa, John McLaughlin, and Alfred Kleusberg (photo by Gerhard Gloss). |
Former graduate students for whom we had addresses were invited to join the party (wonderfully managed by Debbie Smith). After a remarkably eatable meal (courtesy of Beaver Foods on instructions from Noreen Bonnell), on beautifully arranged and decorated tables (courtesy of Noreen and Linda O'Brien), John McLaughlin gathered the crowd into a semblance of order and MC'd the balance of the evening.
Kind words about Theresa were uttered by former chairpersons and directors of graduate studies (Angus Hamilton, Richard Langley, Petr Vaníček), and a
letter from Eugene Derenyi was read. Gifts were presented to Theresa, including a hat belonging to the current chairperson, Alfred Kleusberg.
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| Theresa and Peter Pearce (photo by Richard Langley). |
This hat (see photos below) has a notorious past. When Alfred first became chair of the department, he hung a hat in his office which, perhaps, he saw as a symbol of his position. Upon leaving for a trip a few months into his reign, Alfred was given convincing assurances from other faculty and staff, that the office could run itself in his absence, and nothing would go amiss. Upon his return, he found that his hat had been appropriated by Theresa, who was in the process of parading about the department with it at a jaunty angle. Needless to say, Alfred never left on another trip without hiding his hat.
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| Sharon Fitzgerald and Christopher Pearce. Christopher, who is Theresa and Peter's son, is a recent Ph.D. graduate from Laval University, and the day before Theresa's party, he and Sharon announced their engagement to be married (photo by Gerhard Gloss). |
Theresa joined what was then the Department of Surveying Engineering as a part-time secretary in October 1976. In 1984, she became a full-time employee and gradually assumed the mantle of surrogate director of graduate studies. Her facility with people made her a natural "den mother" to graduate students far from home. Not only did she lend an ear to their troubles, but she also took them home for a meal on many occasions.
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| Family, friends, and colleagues (photo by Dave Wells). |
Theresa has a consistently cheerful outlook on life, she is willing to help anyone with anything, and she always has time to pause for a bit of a chat. These traits made it a pleasure to have her in the office, working with students, faculty, and other staff. Long after a number of graduates had completed their degrees and departed for home, they still kept in touch with Theresa.
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| Gui-hua Zhang (Research Assistant, Ocean Mapping Group), Frank Rack (Research Associate) and Line Anderson, Martin Leese (Computer Systems Manager, Ocean Mapping Group), Huguette and John Hughes Clarke (John is a Research Associate, Ocean Mapping Group), Hou Tianghang (Research Assistant, Ocean Mapping Group (photo by Dave Wells). |
A number of these former students would have liked to have been able to join the rest of us as we celebrated Theresa's retirement. Those who could not make the trip sent cards and letters which were gathered together in a scrapbook. A sampling of the sentiments expressed by these ex-grads is given here:
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| Alfred Kleusberg (Chair), Wayne Walsh (B.Sc.E. 1986; employed by N.B. Department of Transportation), Stephen Hartley (B.Sc.E. 1981) (photo by Dave Wells). |
Justin Walford (Ph.D. 1995): Your presence, grace, and understanding were much appreciated.
Saverio Avella (M.Eng. 1993): Theresa is a person with "real class" in every sense of the word.
Ralph Anderson (M.Sc.E. 1992): Your ready smile and lively spirit made it a pleasure to come to "uni" every day.
Ray Moore (M.Sc.E. 1993): I hope that this next stage in your life is filled with happiness and excitement.
Neville Nandlall (M.Eng., 1987): A fellow retiree; You had that innate quality to rise above the pressures of mundane living and give us worry warts a cheerful smile, and a helpful word of advice, all with a twinkle in your eyes.
Mike Pearson (M.Sc.E., 1989): You can cease being nice to obnoxious graduate students, and stop pretending that professors know more than you.
David Palmer (M.Sc.E., 1984): The harassment has always been of the finest quality.
More Photos ...
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| Rick Wilkins (M.Sc.E. 1990), James Secord (Senior Teaching Associate; Ph.D. 1994), Dave Coleman (Senior Research Associate; M.Sc.E. 1988) (photo by Gerhard Gloss). |
Theresa with all the gifts (photo by Gerhard Gloss). |
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| In the background are Jean and Ivan Ford (M.Sc.E. 1990; currently working in Armenia on a land titling project). In the foreground is Theresa showing off the engraved pitcher that she received as a gift from the department (photo by Gerhard Gloss). |
The infamous hat! (photo by Gerhard Gloss) |
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| Theresa and what used to be Alfred's hat (photo by Richard Langley). |
Stephen Peacock who provided lovely music throughout the evening (photo by Richard Langley). |
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| John McLaughlin toasting Theresa (photo by Richard Langley). |
Gerhard Gloss (a retired member of the department) holding the bouquet (always a bridesmaid never a bride??) (photo by Richard Langley). |
