Terry (born Theresa) Earp left this life on February 15, 2019, for one without the frustration of breathing and movement limitations. A member of Phoenix Meeting for about fifteen years, Terry was hit by an SUV about twelve years ago and began her new life with quadriplegia.
Terry was born on July 5, 1949, in Pueblo, Colorado. She served for two years in the armed forces.
Terry’s influence has been powerful and entertaining. She wrote thirty-six plays that have been published and produced over thirty-five years. She was honored with the “Arizona Lifetime Achievement” award for theater as well as nine Zonies. From her own “On the Spot Theater” to a pilot’s license, triathalons, acting and competitive ballroom dancing, Terry was always ready for another adventure. Her writing took her to a global level. Her play, “Married to a God,” about the life of Vaslov Nijinski, the father of modern dance, was produced in Budapest, Hungary, under her guidance.
Terry found Friends when she and her husband Wyatt were in Scotland for his performance of one of the “Wyatt Earp” trilogy plays in the Quaker Meeting hall in Edinbourgh, Scotland, overlooking the “Royal Mile.” She went upstairs to rest while Wyatt performed and felt the peace and sense of being at home that brought her to Phoenix Meeting upon the couple’s return to Arizona. She and Wyatt also performed two theater tours in Ireland.
Terry and Wyatt were active participants in Phoenix Meeting, serving until recently on the First Day School committee and teaching as needed, and on the Ministry and Care Committee.
In August, 2018, Terry performed two sold-out shows of “Mrs. Wyatt Earp” in the Colorado Theater, from her power chair. She received explosive standing ovations.
Terry is survived by her husband of thirty-three years, Wyatt; sister Gerri Siebenaller and her husband Michael; nephews Bradley Siebenaller and his wife Rachel; Curtis Siebenaller and his wife Alyssa; two grand-nieces and two grand-nephews. She is also survived by her nurse, caregiver and friend Danelle Gerischer.
A private memorial service was held at Phoenix Meeting on Saturday, February 23, 2019.