In Loving Memory of Therese Nan Strong

Therese Nan Strong (nee Murray) passed away peacefully on May 31st, 2023 in Naples, Florida after a brave and long goodbye with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. She was born on October 16, 1959, In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Fenian Murray and Kathleen (Meehan). Her parents were Irish immigrants from County Meath via Birmingham, UK who predeceased her in 2007.

Therese spent her young life in Oakville, Ontario, and many years as a successful entrepreneur alongside her husband Paul as a furniture designer in Grafton and Brighton Ontario (The Antique Warehouse/Our Country Home) and later relocated with her family to warm and sunny Naples-Marco Island, Florida in 2004.

For those of you that didn’t have a chance to know her during her life, she was blessed with a beautiful singing voice that always echoed our home. Motherhood just came intuitively to her, she loved her girls more than anything. She was immeasurably funny, kind, patient, a great listener, effortlessly beautiful and constantly creative; always looking through life in a lens of her own. She was able to completely and unapologetically laugh at herself in a way that was contagious and entertaining - just magnetic to be around and made you feel at ease about life. She was adventurous, curious, bold and had an ear for impressions. As her younger brother described her, to be around that type of a person gave you a feeling; it was as close as you could get to feeling a little bit of what it must be like to be related to someone famous; that gave people immense joy and hope. She loved Florida, the warmth, palm trees and sunshine; we are grateful and so lucky to have not only had the chance to know her but to be loved by her - even as her disease progressed over the years her attitude and ability to bounce back from the unknown descent into memory loss really showed her resilience and having the ability to face something harrowing and transform it to comfort and contentment..."Don't worry about me...this is kind of fun..." She embraced her illness with her own sense of self and interestingly enough was kind of a match with who she was, always dreaming and thinking in another place and world outside of us; never being afraid of it and for that she is truly the bravest person we have ever known. "Now that I've worn out, I've worn out the world - I'm on my knees in fascination; looking through the night and the moon's never seen me before, but I'm reflecting light." She will be truly missed and endlessly loved but somehow always shining through. 

She is survived by her husband of 39 years, Paul Strong; daughters, Theresa Strong and Brittany Stoller (Dan); grandchildren, Jimmy, Jack and Haley; her siblings, Kathleen (Paul), Una, Bernadette (Michael), Joseph (Patricia) and Vincent (Kathie); her nieces and nephews, Amanda, Julia, Thomas, Andrew, Veronica, Maria, Noureen and Nelysha; and by grandnieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers we ask that you please consider donating to the generous and kind efforts at Avow Hospice in Naples, Florida.