TERESE MAPLE

As Europe braced for the beginning of World War II, Terese Maple was born on September 30, 1939 in Kunsziget, Hungary. She was the fourth of five children born to the late József and Katalin Venesz. Terese was raised in the Roman Catholic Church where she received the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation at an early age.

German Nazi and Soviet communist occupations were the backdrop of her childhood. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the borders to Austria were temporarily open, and Terese, her brother Mihály, and a friend decided they would escape Soviet suppression. It was the middle of the night as she and a friend waited at the border for her brother to arrive, but he never came. She had to decide whether to leave without him or stay. At the age of 17, she decided to leave her family and the only home she has known for a strange country where she didn't even know the language. As a refugee in Austria, she was accepted into Germany. Not long after arriving in Germany, her only friend from Hungary was killed in an accident leaving her completely alone. For nearly 15 years, she worked and lived in Germany with her children Katarine, Theresia, Irene, and Marvin.

In 1971, she took a leap of faith by coming to another strange country where she did not know the language, the United States. Terese was joined in holy matrimony to Louis Maple on March 29, 1971. She was welcomed with open arms into the Maple family during a time interacial marriages were not often accepted. Through her husband's service in the US Army, she lived in Germany (11 years), Fort Sill/Lawton, OK, and Fort Bragg/Fayetteville, NC. In 2017, they moved to Arlington, TX where she resided until her death. She loved her family, cooking with her grandchildren, gardening, crocheting, and working on puzzles.

Terese was preceded in death by her brothers István Venesz, Mihály Venesz, Károly Venesz, and daughter Theresia Hepp.

She is survived by her husband Louis Maple; children, Katarine Götz of Germany, Irene Widmann (Helmut) of Germany, Marvin Venesz of Germany, and Angela Mora of Texas; sister, Erzsébet Vadász; sister-in-law, June Thompson (Gary), Barbara Temple; Brother-in-law, Bruce Maple (Rose); grandchildren, Markus (Kerstin), Pierre, Ralf, Cora, Joshua, Alexa; 3 great-grandchildren: a host of nieces, nephews, and friends.