Mrs. Teresa Anne Harrell Anderson, of Friday, Texas, passed away surrounded by her children on September 11,2021. She was 71 years old. Teresa was born on April 23,1950, Weatherford, Texas. To Mary Alice and Winston Harrell. She grew up in Texas City, Texas., and later moved to Pasadena, Texas, where she attended Sam Rayburn High School. While in high school, she discovered her life's passion when she began working in the high school library. She also worked in the Pasadena Public Library after school and, upon graduation from high school in 1968, she worked in the San Jacinto College Library. Teresa's lifelong love of books and reading continued while raising her three children, whose childhoods were filled with trips to the library, conversations about books, bedtime stories, and read aloud books in her lap. After being out of college for 13 years, she returned to college in the mid-1980's to finish a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching at Sam Houston State University.

In 1987, at the age of 37, Teresa stepped into a classroom at Groveton Elementary as a Professional Educator. That day she began a career that spanned 35 years serving students and teachers in Groveton Independent School District. Teresa taught Chapter1 reading intervention; junior high reading improvement; second, third, and fourth grade self-contained classrooms; and dyslexia intervention. In 1991, she earned a Master of Library Science from Sam Houston State University, and in 2004, she achieved her lifelong dream when she became the librarian for Groveton ISD. As teacher and librarian, Teresa loved engaging students with reading. Whether she was teaching children to read or assisting students in selecting books they would be interested in, she was on a mission tom help every child become a reader. In the elementary school library, she loved story time, meticulously planning the yearly themes, and choosing the books she would read aloud when the elementary classes visited the library. Students loved listening to her as she brought the stories to life with enthusiasm and expression, transporting them to other worlds with the magic of books. In the high school library, students remember that Mrs. Anderson's high school library was a safe place for them when the challenges of adolescence were overwhelming. One of her joys was "talking books" with teenagers, and if the library didn't have a book they requested, she would go out of her way to acquire it for them, even if t meant spending her own money to do it. Teresa enjoyed fishing, traveling, and meeting authors to collect autographed copies of their books. She served as adult leader in Trinity County 4-H for many years. She also enjoyed co-directing the Junior High U.I.L. One-Act Play. She was a member of the Gamma Chi Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, an organization of women educators in Trinity-Houston Counties. Over the years, she was a member of Friday Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Groveton, and most recently Zion Hill Baptist Church. She spent her life taking care of and serving others. Her legacy is one of love and literacy and love of literacy.

Teresa is survived by her children, son: Lee Sterling III and wife, Crys Lewis of Jeju, S. Korea; daughters: Polly Trevino and husband, Saul of Jersey Village, TX., Mindy Fox and husband, Andrew of Spring; stepsons: Jerry Lee Anderson and wife, Joanne of Maldon Essex, UK., John Anderson and wife, Michele of New Waverly, TX., James Anderson and wife, Nancy of Carlsbad, NM., Jeffrey Anderson and wife, Lora of Friday; sisters in laws: Louise Antley of Friday, Chung Ling Harrell Agana of Guam, Linda Anderson of Friday. 20 Grandchildren: 21 great Grandchildren: 2 Great -Great Grandchildren, special Nieces: Melissa Guthery, Susan Harrell, and, Cindy Eley, Host of other nieces, nephews, and other extended family, and friends that were loved.

Teresa is preceded by her husband, Jerry Mac Anderson; parents: Mary Alice and Winston Harrell; brothers: Alvin Harrell, James Harrell, and Gary Harrell; sisters in law: Eloise Parker and Paula Harrell; brothers in law; J.E. Anderson, Kenneth Antley, and Billy Joe Anderson.