Stella Tetar

Stella Tetar, 81, our dear aunt and friend, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 after suffering a severe stroke. Stella was born June 30, 1933, the youngest child of John and Mary Kazkcuck Tetar of Newark, New Jersey. Stella left Newark and began her education by obtaining her B.A. from the University of Chicago and followed this by obtaining her M.A. from the University of Arizona. She was part of the original faculty upon the founding of Pima Community College, where she taught Physical Education until her retirement. To say Stella lived a full life would be a understatement of massive proportions. She was not one to sit back and let life go by, but instead, one to challenge it head on. A true athlete, she was a long-time member of the Tucson Racquet Club, where she trained for the Senior Olympics. She also devoted significant time and training to running marathons and ultra-marathons, including completing the Western States Hundred, a 100-mile non-stop race through the Sierra Nevada, in celebration of her 50th birthday. Stella’s outgoing and sincere personality was always ‘on’ in everything she did, whether through athletic endeavors, her teaching, her interest in the arts, or just random meetings of people. And as a result, she formed many lasting friendships with an incredibly diverse cross-section of Tucsonians, enriching both her life as well as theirs. Stella is survived by nephews David Dawson, Charles Demskis, John Tetar, Robert Tetar and Michael Tetar, and nieces Betty Demskis Pinho, Alice Demskis Jordan and Christine Demskis McQueen. Stella was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Ann and Olga, and her brothers Walter, Paul and Robert. A gathering of family and friends to celebrate our love for Stella and share the adventures we’ve had with her will be held Friday, February 13, 2015 from 3 – 5 PM at Rusty’s Family Restaurant and Grille, 2075 West Grant Road, Tucson.