Teresa J. Rohren

Terry was born on June 17, 1954, and was the oldest of five siblings. She grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, in a busy household with her parents, Sherry, Steve, Kris, and Kelly.

Being part of a family of seven certainly had its challenges. The family squeezed into a four-bedroom house with one full bathroom.

Their mother was a wonderful cook, and the family had dinner together every evening. Afterward, Terry and Sherry were expected to clean up. Sherry would clear the table and load the dishwasher, while Terry somehow always seemed to need the bathroom just as the dishes needed to be done. She would return just as the work was nearly finished—a small example of the humor and personality that everyone came to love about Terry.

As the oldest sibling, Terry naturally became a mentor and protector. She was always willing to help her younger brother and sisters, especially as the family moved from place to place.

One of the family’s favorite memories happened when they were living in Columbia, Missouri. When her brother was four years old, Terry pointed to an old bicycle with bent wheels and a crooked frame and said, “I bet you cannot ride this bike; it is way too difficult for you.”

Determined to prove her wrong, he practiced for weeks until he could ride it up and down the gravel road. When their mother came running outside in disbelief, Terry simply smiled, winked, and told him she was proud of him.

That story captured Terry perfectly. She knew how to challenge people, encourage them, and help them discover what they were capable of.

Terry continued to be that person throughout her life. She was a teacher, mentor, confidant, and life coach to her siblings. She loved entertaining them, taking them to restaurants, recommending books, and sharing her seemingly endless knowledge.

Her annual Christmas letters became a favorite family tradition, always filled with stories, humor, and great book recommendations. She had a devilish smile, a genuine laugh.

But more than anything, Terry was always there. She was the person her siblings could call or text whenever they needed advice, encouragement, or simply someone to listen.

Terry met her husband Gerry Pierce in 1982. They had a beautiful wedding in their small apartment in Omaha with the family all chipping in to help save money but still making it a great event. Gerry had a son prior to their marriage, Benjamin Pierce, so Terry was instantly thrown into the world of being a mother.

In March of 1985, Terry and Gerry welcomed their first child to the world, Patrick Pierce. Terry was the definition of a working mother. She spent as much time as possible being available at home while also navigating, commuting to Lincoln every day for work and also taking many extended work trips around the US.

Terry had a multitude of careers in her life from being a substance abuse counselor, to working for a highly respected community foundation in Omaha and lastly helping implement best practices for early childhood development for the state of Nebraska.

Throughout her professional career, she received many accolades. In 1989, The Omaha Jaycees organization named Terry as one of the 10 Outstanding Omahans. In 1995, she was named employee of the year for her department at the State of Nebraska. Ketty and NPN Friend’s dedicated an entire month to Terry for being a good NPN Chair. Coincidentally, all of these honors were given to her in the month of June.

When Terry and the family had free time, they enjoyed taking trips as a family of 4. Most memorable would be the yearly vacations to Peyton Colorado to visit the Pierce side of the family, as well as taking the family along when she had work travels. A few memorable trips were going to Chicago and Washington DC.

Terry’s favorite role in life was being a grandmother to her grandchildren. She highly enjoyed reading to them as well as helping them make stacks of blocks. Which typically needed to be destroyed in various ways. Most recently, Frankie loved taking her cane to destroy the blocks he would build at her feet in her favorite reclining chair.

Terry would tell anybody and everybody about “her boys” as she referred to them to give updates on what they were doing for activities as well as recent school events. Terry was their biggest fan and was beyond proud of all of them.

Throughout her life, Terry had many lifelong friends. Many of which more recently came in the form of local book clubs and Mahjong groups. As a sibling to her brother and sister’s, Terry refused to play games. Ironically, once she took to playing Mahjong, she got everybody in the family to start playing and it has become a major part in all our lives.

If you didn’t know her for Mahjong, odds are good you knew she was an avid reader. She was notorious for reading over 150 books annually. One of her favorite things to chat about with friends and family was recent books she read. She was quick to give glowing recommendations as well as letting people know when and why she did not care for a book.

Terry will be deeply missed—not only for her laughter, wisdom, humor, and traditions, but for the love and guidance she gave so freely.

Service 10:00 AM Saturday (10/10/2026) at Roeder Mortuary 2727 N. 108th St. Omaha, NE.

In lieu of flowers memorials to Friends of the Bennington Public Library 11401 N 156th Street in Bennington, NE 68007

Friends of the Bennington Public Library Facebook page

Roeder Mortuary, Inc. - 108th Street Chapel - 2727 N 108th St - Omaha, NE - 402-496-9000

www.RoederMortuary.com