To
our enduring sadness, Terri Lynne (Radford) LaCroix of
Shorewood, Wisconsin, passed away on March 24, 2025, at the
age of 80, after a long illness.
Terri
was a lifelong artist whose creativity and curiosity were
matched only by her profound and thoroughgoing love for and
devotion to her family. A fearless debater, an
inveterate list maker, a perennial Francophile, and a gifted
painter and designer, Terri was an anchoring force for her
family, her friends, and her community.
Born
in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 25, 1944, to Vivian Louise
(Waxler) Radford and Jack Francis Radford, Terri spent the
early years of her childhood in New Paris, Ohio, and
Richmond, Indiana, before moving with her family to
Kankakee, Illinois, where she graduated from Kankakee High
School in 1962. She then attended the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, where she majored in art, with a focus on
painting, and earned a Bachelor of Science in 1966.
Following graduation, Terri moved to Chicago, where
she worked as an account production operator at Poole
Brothers Printing Co. on Printers’ Row.
In
1967, Terri married David D. LaCroix, and the couple moved
to Evanston, Illinois. Three years later, in 1970,
Terri and David welcomed their first child, David Daniel,
Jr. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to the
Milwaukee suburbs, settling in Shorewood in 1973. In
1974, their second child, Alison Leigh, was born.
Between
1974 and 1992, while her children attended Shorewood’s
public schools, Terri lent her formidable artistic,
language, and organizational skills to a range of volunteer
activities, including the Atwater School Parent-Teacher
Association, the Shorewood High School Parent Advisory
Council (of which she served as coordinator), the Atwater
Antique Show, College for Kids, Girl Scouts, and local
political campaigns, among many others. While her
children were students at Shorewood High School, Terri and a
small group of other volunteers launched The Underground, a
program at the high school’s recreation center that
sponsored weekend activities and social events for high
schoolers. She was subsequently employed as the
founding coordinator of Shorewood Responds, a community
program that focused on studying and preventing the use of
alcohol, tobacco, and drugs by minors.
Terri
leaves behind her husband, David D. LaCroix; her daughter,
Alison LaCroix, son-in-law William Birdthistle, and
granddaughters Elspeth, Isolde, and Alana
LaCroix-Birdthistle, who live in Chicago; her son, David D.
LaCroix, daughter-in-law Helen LaCroix, and grandchildren
Hope and Henry LaCroix, who live in Washington, D.C.; and
her sister, Christy McBride and brother-in-law Daniel
McBride, who live in Orange County, California.
The
family would like to thank all the people who have lovingly
helped to care for Terri at the Milwaukee Catholic Home.
Terri
was a vital power in the lives of her family members and
friends. All of us whom she loved and who loved her
miss her dearly. We will always hold close to our
hearts one of her favorite quotations, from Ralph Waldo
Emerson, which she once had printed on pencils that she then
placed in our Christmas stockings: “Nothing great was ever
achieved without enthusiasm.”
