Our wife, mother and grandmother, Rickie Tesoro, passed away peacefully in her home on Holy Saturday, April 20, 2019, at age 74. She fought an extended battle against breast cancer, and then pulmonary fibrosis, and passed away surrounded by her family, close friends and clergy.
She was born in Alabama and raised in Virginia, where she graduated from nursing school. She met her husband, Gus, a physician from the Philippines. They married on May 24, 1968, and soon started a family and a life of travel and excitement.
After short stints in upstate New York and Illinios, they landed in the small town of Evanston, Wyo., where they started a medical practice, he as the doctor and she as the nurse. She took a break from nursing to raise four children. Her years in Wyoming were devoted to her family, snow skiing in the winter and water skiing in the summer. She was always the biggest fan and cheerleader for her children, supporting them through countless swim meets and ski races, band concerts and piano recitals.
She returned to nursing in 1989 at Holy Cross hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she cared for many patients over the course of several years. In 1991, the family relocated to Alabama, first to Aliceville and then finally to Montgomery. In Montgomery Rickie was a nurse at Saint Margaret’s Hospital. She loved nursing, and was an excellent care provider.
She retired from nursing in 2007, and enjoyed hobbies such as gardening, refinishing furniture and interior decorating. In addition, one of her true life passions was singing. She sang in many church and community choirs over the years, including a choir that once performed at Lincoln Center in New York City, but most notably for the Sweet Adelines and the Montgomery Chorale, where she sang with many dear friends from 1995 until 2017.
Rickie was a devout Catholic, attended Mass weekly and took great pride in clasping Pope Benedict’s hand on a trip to Rome. She was a cantor at St. Bede Catholic Church until her illness prevented her in 2017.
She is preceded in death by her parents James Russel Horton and Hazel Winningham Horton. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Gus Tesoro, sons Greg (and his wife Susan) Tesoro of Bentonville, Arkansas, Mark (and his wife Sherie) Tesoro of Evanston, Wyoming, Sean (and his wife Jennifer) Tesoro of Reading, Massachusetts, and daughter Amy (and her husband Rodney) Edmonds of Greenville, South Carolina. Her grandchildren are Olivia, Elias, Owen, Colette, Ally, Sean and Kate Tesoro. She is also survived by her brother David Horton and sister Wanda Bourne.
Services were held on Tuesday, April 23, at St. Bede Catholic Church, Atlanta Highway, with a visitation, Rosary, funeral Mass and graveside service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to COPE Pregnancy Center.
