Date of Birth:
Monday, November 7, 1932
Date of Death:
Friday, September 7, 2018
Age:
85 years old

Louise Jesh Terrill

Louise Jesh Terrill died peacefully on September 7, 2018 at Madonna Towers Skilled Care in Rochester, MN.

Born on November 7, 1932, Albany, Minnesota, to Othmar and Marcella Jesh. She graduated from Albany High School and went on to attend the Minnesota School of Medical Technology, graduating with a medical technician degree.  She worked 4 years as a medical technologist in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Louise was drawn to an advertisement for a position in Alamosa, Colorado and was hired after a phone interview.  She met and married her husband, Leonard Terrill, in Alamosa.  They moved to several towns in Colorado where Louise continued her work in medical clinics.  One of the towns they lived in was Golden, Colorado, where she was an inspector of barley germination at Coors Brewery.

After her divorce she worked for the Bureau of Land Management then Mine Safety and Health Administration as a mining engineering technician. This job provided her the opportunity to apply and attend the Institute of Mine Safety in Beckley, West Virginia, being the only female of twenty-eight candidates.  She graduated with honors and began her career as a mine inspector in metal mines, one of four women in the United States to do so. She moved to Rapid City, South Dakota to a job which took her to thousands of feet below ground in Homestake Mine as well as surface inspections in South and North Dakota.  She lived her motto of Safety First: “Asking me to overlook a simple safety violation would be asking me to compromise my entire attitude towards the value of your life.”  After 5 years she moved to Washington, D. C.  working as a mine safety specialist for coal mining regulations. She received the Exceptional Achievement Award from Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman.

Louise was an advocate for equal pay and equal opportunity for all, receiving commendation at the federal level for her committee work.  “If I do the same work as a man, I should get paid the same salary.”

After retiring she worked as a hostess at Nordstrom’s in Falls Church, Virginia. Always an active volunteer, Louise initiated and coordinated the English conversation group at the Thomas Jefferson Library, Fairfax, Virginia. This was the first group created at a Fairfax County Public Library branch and became a model for the system.

Louise desired to be closer to her siblings and moved to Rochester, MN in 2001, where her sister, Diane and husband, Jim, lived.  She was an active member of LIFE programs, serving a term on the Board, and a member of St. Francis of Assisi parish.  She worked part-time at HERS and was a Mayo volunteer for over 10 years.  Louise was proud to be a 35- year cancer survivor.  After a fall and injury, Louise lived at Madonna Meadows Assisted Living, followed with a short stay at Stewartville Health Care Center, then moved to Madonna Towers Skilled Care.

Louise loved to travel and was an ardent learner. She traveled to 47 states, Italy and Medjagorie, which influenced her deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.  In 1968, for one month, she traveled with Amigos de Los Americas to Guatemala, setting up clinics and gave first aid and inoculations for polio, and smallpox. Serving the peasants in the hills, she said she never saw such poverty- stricken people.

Her interests were playing golf and bridge, acrylic painting, music, travel, swimming, taking long walks, and entertaining.

As the “oldest, big sister” she cared deeply for her siblings/family, Annette Meyer (Harvey), Ione Jesh, David Jesh (Kathy) and Diane Schwinghammer (Jim); Nieces Mary Meyer Miller, Ann Meyer Walt, Therese Meyer Cooper, Carolyne Meyer Burke, and nephews Mike Schwinghammer and Mark Schwinghammer (Jolene).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be at Madonna Towers Chapel Tuesday, September 11 at 11:00. Visitation will be at 9:30 until the time of service.  Lunch will follow. Burial will be at Seven Dolors Catholic Church Cemetery, Albany, MN, on Wednesday, September 12. In lieu of flowers, donations to Madonna Towers Foundation are suggested. The donations will be applied to the Art Therapy program.  The family expresses gratitude to hospice and all employees who work in senior living centers, with special recognition to Madonna Living Community staff. Their compassion, patience, and care represent God’s love for all.