Teresa Renda Carlson of Lexington, MA, passed away on August 24 with her husband and daughter at her side. She was 83 years old. The cause of death was heart failure.

Teresa was born in Capistrano, Calabria, Italy on July 16, 1942. She was the youngest of five daughters of Fineo and Angela Renda. She came to Toronto, Canada with her mother in 1957 to join her father. She graduated from Harbord Collegiate High School and Toronto Teacher's College, and taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in the Toronto school system. She married Thomas Carlson of Michigan in 1968 and moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where Tom was in the army. There she taught English to returning Vietnam soldiers in a GED program. After the army, the couple moved back to Okemos, Michigan, where Teresa got a BA from Michigan State University, and where their daughter Angela Licia was born in 1970. The family moved to Beverly Hills, Michigan, outside of Detroit, in 1979, and she became Director of the International School. After she and Thomas retired, they moved to Lexington in 2011 to be close to Licia, Jeremiah, and grandson Julian.

Teresa was an avid storyteller, and she is the author of many books, including for We Speak of Living, Oddyssey, and The Many Faces of Women. She was one of the subjects of a 1978 CBC television production called "Four Women", about women battling breast cancer. She loved literature, opera, gardening, taking care of her bonsai plants, and cooking, especially for her grandson.

There will be a requiem mass at St. Brigid Parish, 1995 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington on Thursday Aug. 28 at 10:00 a.m., followed by an interment at the Westview Cemetery, 520 Bedford St., Lexington. A separate memorial service will be set for a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests the contributions be sent to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, or to your favorite charity.