Terry Vasques
Terry was born to Italian immigrant parents in New York on March 18, 1922, and was the second of six children. According to her sister, from a young age, Vasques displayed incomparable leadership skills and a commitment to excellence. She also was said to be a role model for her siblings and friends. In her early career, Vasques was a respected teacher at Salem College in North Carolina where she taught math, Italian and economics. Following this, she began her 20-year career in aerospace engineering at the General Dynamics Convair Division in San Diego. Her projects included things like designing an underwater based tracking system for NASA’s Apollo program. In 1957 she entered the first nine transcontinental air races sponsored by the 99s, an all women’s flying club.
In the mid-70s, Vasques sought to pursue real estate and as a result built a successful commercial real estate practice in partnership with her husband, Al. Vasques and her husband owned several aircraft which she depicted in a series of mosaic tile designs that were displayed proudly in their home as a tribute to their flying days. Thus is regarded as her personal period of artistic expression and experimentation of a variety of mediums. She gravitated towards acrylic, watercolor and an Impressionistic style. Many of her paintings she gave to her family and friends as gifts and also displayed them publicly in the San Diego Art Institute. During her retirement, Vasques sought a further immersion into the arts. She was a patron of the San Diego Opera and Symphony and her and her husband often invited lecturers to their home to speak on the history of operas and the stories they portrayed. Vasques died after being diagnosed with terminal cancer and undergoing various clinical trials. She is remembered for her valiant dignity, positive outlook on life and relentless drive to never give up.1
1 Theresa Distabile Vaques (n.d.)