Teresa Ann Peduzzi
November 15, 1939 ~ January 23, 2026
Born in:
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Resided in:
Fairfax, Virginia
Beloved mother of Natalie Augustine Gramley (Kevin Edward Gramley), Ann Marie Augustine, and Joanna Marie Augustine (Keith Wright). Proud and devoted Nonna to Christopher Edward Gramley (Natalie Hall Gramley), Benjamin Carl Gramley, Jonathan Douglas Gramley, Matthew Joseph Gramley and Joanna Natalie Peduzzi. Sister to Carol Jo Mills (Joseph Mills) and Mary Lou Peduzzi and Aunt and Great Aunt to many loved nieces and nephews. Dedicated and devoted friend to many. Proceeded in death by her parents, Carl Joseph Peduzzi and Josephine Rose Pesci (Racasi), her first husband Charles Thomas Augustine and second husband William Bryan.
A Mount Union, Pennsylvania native, Teresa grew up above her parent’s store, which was started by her father’s parents as a grocery store and became a sandwich and coffee shop. During her childhood, Teresa worked there from a very young age washing dishes, cleaning tables and sweeping the floors. After school and on weekends, she continued to work through high school, serving regulars cokes and sandwiches, candy and magazines. She graduated from Captain Jack High School in Mount Union and went on to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. There she met and married her college sweetheart, Charles Augustine. They had three daughters. She learned to love gardening and cooking from her mother and grandmother and she was a master at both. Her garden won many neighborhood awards, where she was constantly replanting and rearranging her yard. Her cooking was famous among her family and friends, and her sauce was a favorite to all who had the privilege of sitting at her table!
Teresa was a lifelong learner, continuing her education at the University of Pennsylvania, she acquired her Master’s of Nursing with a Clinical Major in Psychiatric Nursing and a Functional Major in Education. She held clinical nursing positions at the VA in Pittsburgh, PA, Hamot Medical Center in Erie, PA, Director of Information and Referral at the Office of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in Erie, PA, and Instructor at Villa Maria College, in Erie. She held Assistant Professorships at Villa Maria College, Erie, PA, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, Trenton State College, Trenton, NJ, and Rutgers University, in Camden, NJ. She was the Director of the Baccalaureate Nursing Program at Villa Maria College in Erie, PA from 1980-1981, the Chairperson for the Department of Nursing from 1981 to 1983. She left Villa Maria College to work for the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland first as the Acting Head Nurse of the Neuroendocrinology and Child Psychiatry Branch of the NIMH and then as a Clinical Nurse Educator at the Mental Health, Alcohol, Aging and Liaison Patient Services at the National Institutes of Health until her retirement. Even after she retired, she never stopped learning, attending internet webinars on health and new strategies on remaining healthy and supplementation.
After a trip to Italy, she became interested in Ancestry and spent many hours researching her family’s history, meeting with and sharing information with extended family around the world.
Her greatest love and achievement if you were to ask her were her grandchildren. From the moment they were born until the very end, her love for them was absolute and abundant! She was a strong woman who stood up for what she believed in. She modeled her Catholic values and had very high standards which she expected all to adhere to! She loved her people fiercely and if you were blessed to be counted among them, she looked after you with her whole heart and soul. If you were one of them, you knew it!
A Catholic Memorial Mass will be held at St. Leo’s Catholic Church on February 21st, 2026 at 11AM, all who knew and loved her are invited and welcome to attend. The family will receive friends and family at a celebration luncheon at her home directly following the Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hillsdale College https://www.hillsdale.edu/ in her honor or to the St. Leo’s Catholic Church, memo line to read Social Ministry https://stleofairfax.com/ or because of her love of plants you may donate to the Arbor Day Foundation to plant a memorial tree in her honor. https://www.arborday.org/
Services
Memorial Mass of Christian Burial: February 21, 2026 11:00 am
St. Leo the Great Catholic Church
3700 Old Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-273-5369
http://stleofairfax.com/
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Sending you sincere condolences and prayers to all the Augustine family at this time of great loss. Your mother’s accomplishments were very important -reflecting such a highly successful and respected woman of her time! 🙏🌺👊