Obituary: Theresa Marie (Castagna) Hare - Class of 1945

MADISON - Madison has lost a good one. Theresa Marie Hare (Castagna) [age 86] went to Heaven on March 27, 2014. She fought one helluva fight and did it her way. Cue the Frank Sinatra music! Her spirit still lives on with all who were fortunate to know Theresa. She touched everyone she ever knew. She was fun, funny, hard-working, friendly, the life of the party and made you feel like part of the family. She was tough as nails and you wouldn't have wanted to make her mad. She was a 5 foot powerhouse bursting with personality.

She married the love of her life, Jesse Jack Hare and together they forged a life branded with the motto "You only live once, so what the hell, go for it!" Theresa opened her first bar Chesty's in 1952 and eventually ran many businesses with Jack including The Bunny Hop, The White Hare and Hare's Towne Bowl. Their life read like a manual of how to live the best life ever! Theresa was blessed with family, many friends, crazy adventures and lots of love. Theresa's daughters, Toni and Jackie always felt lucky to have been chosen to be her kids. The greatest gift she ever gave to her daughters was an idyllic childhood filled with fun, laughter and lots of love.

When friends think of Theresa they remember her quick-witted humor and how she made everyone feel special. She could be found most Sundays hosting big spaghetti dinners and pool parties. Theresa also loved to take trips in their family's RV. As Theresa grew older into what she called "the Rusty Years", she still stayed spry. She never missed an Italian Fest and reminiscing with former Greenbush neighbors. She taught her grandchildren that fine art of being a wise-crackin' jokester. They were lucky to know that their Grandma loved them with every fiber of her being. Theresa lived life not according to how old the calendar said she was. In fact, she really disliked hanging out with "old people". At 86, she never considered herself old. That is the key to defying 70+ years of smoking those damn cigarettes and eating a cheeseburger with a slice of raw for breakfast! Her strength, tenaciousness and determination was the foundation of who Theresa was.

So get ready world because the Angel of Happiness is on the scene! The Department of Fun will never be the same! Raise a Miller Lite, smile and enjoy life today as Theresa would tell you to do. We all love and miss you, from your family: Toni Hare and Marcy Braucht, (Katie and Alex Hipler, Gabe and Will Braucht) Jackie and Mark White (Scarlett, Marshall and Truman White) and the Arizona Hares. Join us to celebrate the amazing life of Theresa Hare, Thursday April 3, 2014, at Good Shepherd Catholic Parish at St. James Church, 1128 St. James Court, Madison, Wis, with a 10 a.m. visitation and 11 a.m.funeral. Luncheon will immediately follow.

 Originally published in the Wisconsin State Journal on March 30, 2014. Submitted by Michael Vahldieck (Class of 1968) 

Note: Theresa Castagna's class year is based on a 1945 list of graduates published in The Capital Times.