Theresa Kornak, age 72, passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, April 14th after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her sisters Kristine Matone (and husband Peter) and Mary Versarge (late husband Paul); her brothers, Stan Kornak (and wife Laura), Joseph Kornak, and sister-in-law Mary Kornak (wife of Valentine Kornak); 9 loving nieces and nephews; 4 great nieces and 1 great nephew; she is predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Jadwiga Kornak, and brother Valentine Kornak.

 

Theresa was born in England and grew up in Elizabeth, NJ before moving to the Upper West Side, Manhattan, where she resided for over 40 years. In her later years, Theresa lived in New Hope, PA with her sister Mary where she loved walking into town and along the towpath.

 

Theresa worked as a copy editor and was well known for her practicality, her contagious personality and sharing interesting pieces of information with friends and family. She worked for Springer-Verlag for many years before freelancing for Springer, Cambridge, Columbia Press and other prestigious publishing companies. Her specialty was in copyediting medical books and was frequently praised for her "great work, pleasant communications and fantastic insights".

 

She was passionate about literacy and education, and loved helping others. She volunteered for many years with Literacy Partners, Inc. in New York City where she tutored adults in English and math.  She was respected by her students and received the Jonathan Levin Educator of the Year Award in June, 2002 for her accomplishments and dedication.

 

She had a fantastic sense of humor, loved a good beer, her Polish heritage, traveling, and had a gift for making the best of any situation.

 

She has impacted the lives of so many, and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.  She enjoyed spending time with her great nieces and nephew who adored her and lovingly called her "Aunt T".

 

A service will be held at The National Shrine of Czestochowa, 654 Ferry Road in Doylestown PA (enter thru cemetery gates, travel to the end of the road and the red cemetery chapel will be on your left) on Wednesday April 27th at 10 AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Unicef or Literacy Partners NYC.