Teresa Strand, had 'living wake' to celebrate life, family, friends

Updated: May 21, 2007 - 10:01 PM

The Burnsville woman who celebrated her life with a "living wake" has died of cancer.

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Teresa Strand, who threw a "living wake" in February to celebrate her life, died Saturday at her Burnsville home. She was 46.

Strand, whose pluck, thoughtfulness and devotion to her family remained strong as she battled colon cancer since late 2003, decided that she wanted to give a party to thank family and friends for their love and support. Hundreds flocked to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville for the Feb. 11 event, which was the subject of a Star Tribune article.

Strand said then that cancer had brought her moments both holy and hellish. "The upside is that relationships become more precious when time is short," she said.

Her husband, Tom, said this week that she "squeezed every drop of life possible out of the time she had, and hopefully inspired others to do the same.

Strand also chronicled her struggles with death in her scrapbooking, which evolved from a hobby to folk art, and kept a blog, www.startribune.com/a2826.

Strand is survived by her husband, Tom; her children, Benjamin, Joanna and Garrett; her parents, Lawrence and Donna Theis; four sisters, Kathie Upton, Pat Borchardt, Connie Cotterman and Mary Baumann, and two brothers, Steven and Leo Theis.

Services will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 13901 Fairview Dr., Burnsville. Visitation will be held two hours before services at the church.

PAMELA MILLER