Memorial

Terese A. Claeys, 89, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa passed away Sunday, September 21, 2025, at Hiawatha Care Center. A Mass of Christian of Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at St. Pius X Catholic Church. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service. Burial will follow mass and take place at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery. 

Terese was born on August 20, 1936, in Ely Minnesota. The third child of Tony and Mayme Kotchevar. She attended Ely elementary and high schools and junior college. She then attended Saint Scholastica College, graduating in 1958 with a degree in Medical Records. After working at the Ely hospital for one summer, she accepted the medical record supervisor position at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was there where she met the love of her life, Carroll Claeys, and they were married February 13, 1960.  

For the first three years of their marriage, they traveled across the United States for Carroll’s job as a field engineer. First to Floral Park, NY, then Trucksville, PA, Finley, ND, Boron, CA, and Stanton, CA. In October of 1963 they returned to Cedar Rapids where Carroll had accepted a position with the Federal Government.

Terese and Carroll had three children together. Those were busy times for Terese, raising three young children and maintaining a household. She found time to help at school, be a Cub Scout leader, and work part time for the hospital. When the children were all school aged, she accepted the opportunity to establish a medical record program at Kirkwood Community College. This was a challenge she enjoyed, teaching students the skills of her profession. It was a time when her students were in demand by hospitals and medical businesses. While at Kirkwood she wrote and published a workbook on medical filing. She also served one year as president on the Iowa Medical Records Association. Terese worked for seventeen years at Kirkwood. She made many friendships during those years. 

She was a people person, always ready to start a conversation. Those who knew her can attest that she was difficult to out talk. She could always make new friends wherever she went. The royalties from the workbook provided funds for several overseas vacations. On each trip she would meet someone who would be a friend for years afterward. 

 Terese is survived by her loving husband, Carroll Claeys; children, David, Catherine (Mark), and Gregory (Eva); grandchildren, Samantha, Claire, and Meja; and her sister Ellie Zgonc.
 
She is preceded in death by her parents and her siblings Jim and Mary.