Ms. Teresa Mongaraz (Cortez), a long time resident of Calera, Alabama, passed into the next life on September 9, 2024. Born on October 18, 1931 in Sahuayo, Michoacan, Mexico, Teresa spent her formative years in Mexico and on December 24, 1947 married Augustine Cortez, a veteran of WWII. She initially moved to East Chicago, Indiana and then to Black Oak, Indiana, where she successfully raised eight children with kindness and loving care. She was employed in various seamstress positions, and later relocated to Mission Viejo, California, where she worked at JCPenney as a seamstress, and as a tech at Good Shepard Home for mentally challenged adults. Following the death of her husband, she subsequently married Cipriano Mongaraz, and returned to Gary, Indiana. Following the death of Cipriano, she relocated to Calera, Alabama. She was a lifelong Catholic, and an active member of a variety of prayer groups wherever she resided.

She is survived by her children, Augustine Cortez (Louise), Ricardo Cortez (Nancy), Virginia Cortez-Intoccia (Vincent), Mike Cortez, Grace Gomez (Ignacio), Teresa Cortez, Martin Cortez (Tina) and Marcos Cortez; as well as a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A funeral mass will be held at Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church at 10:00am  and burial will take place at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California at 11:30am, on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.  A reception will follow at Santiago de Compostela parish hall.

Her memory is a blessing to all who knew her. May she rest in peace.