Teresa Ann Courtney

Teresa Ann Courtney, age 61, of Yankton, South Dakota, died Monday, June 24, 2024 at her home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Yankton, South Dakota, with Reverend Darin Schmidt officiating. The Mass will be live streamed and can be viewed on Teresa’s obituary page or at www.facebook.com\WintzRay. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Yankton, South Dakota. Visitation is from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton, South Dakota, with a rosary and vigil service at 7:00 PM.

Pallbearers will be: Dave Jerke, Pat Kotalik, Jim Drotzmann, Tom Gilmore, and Alvin Novak.

Teresa Ann Courtney was born July 30, 1962, in Yankton, South Dakota, to Clarence and Janet (Freidel) Courtney. When Teresa was 11 months old she was hospitalized with an unknown illness. When they thought they may lose her, at the last moments Dr. Reade determined that she had type 1 diabetes, which ended up saving her life. Even though they were able to save her the doctors said they would be amazed if she would make it to 25. With the love and dedication of her family, she was able to have 61 years. 

Teresa grew up on the family farm north of Yankton and graduated from Sacred Heart School in Yankton in 1976, Yankton High School in 1980 and South Dakota State University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and a minor in Chemistry. She then worked in Mitchell, South Dakota, in a pork processing plant where she would test the meat quality for different bacteria. She then went to work in the Field Research Station in Yankton under the direction of Steve Hamilton (the Mad Scientist) and Art Bullard (the Chem Wizard). She then worked for the University of South Dakota as a lab technician, cleaning lab equipment. She had to determine what the equipment was used for, what byproducts were left in the equipment and research how to safely dispose of those materials.

Teresa was a member of St. Benedict Catholic Church where she loved singing in the choir. She was a member of 4-H as a child where she made dresses and grew vegetables. She enjoyed watching shows on Public TV like Create TV and cooking shows as well as Downton Abbey and Doc Martin. She was very dedicated to her work and refused to cut corners. She took her jobs very seriously because she wanted to make sure everything was safe for the public. Her lifelong battle with type 1 diabetes caused her many difficulties including causing her kidneys to fail. She was able to get a transplant which gave her many years of quality life. She loved going to see things, whether it was the mountains, oceans, or the black hills.

Survivors include her brother, Tom Courtney of Yankton; uncle, Arnold (Beth) Freidel of Savannah, Missouri; aunt: Sister Kathleen Courtney of Yankton and Godmother, Marge Lubbers of Missoula, Montana and many cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents, aunts and uncle.