Teruko Kondo

Teruko T. Kondo, who died on April 5, 2024, was born on February 1, 1928, in Hana, Hawaii to Chiyozuchi and Tatsuno Tokunaga. 

When she was 9 years old, her mother passed away and her father was injured in a mill accident.  She was adopted by the Ueki family and grew up among 4 brothers and 9 sisters.  She attended Hana Elementary School; but after December 7, 1941, she enrolled in Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu.  She graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in English and Psychology.

The following year she married Richard Kondo and they moved to Chicago, IL, where he pursued his electronic engineering degree.  While there, she worked as a secretary for the Executive Director of Michael Reese Hospital.  Later she transferred to the Masonite Corporation in the Loop.

The family moved to New Mexico when Richard was hired at White Sands Proving Ground, which late became the Missile Range.  They lived in Carrizozo, NM, for ten years and were members of the Trinity Methodist Church.

In 1963, they moved to Alamogordo, NM, and joined Grace United Methodist Church, where she was an active member of the women's organization.  She served two terms as president of the United Methodist Women and taught Sunday school in the 4th and 5th grade classes for many years.  While her boys were in scouting, she served as den mother.

Richard and she had four children and when they all were in school, Terry attended NMSU for graduate studies in education and taught in the Alamogordo Public Schools, primarily at Yucca Elementary School.

After retirement, she joined her husband in the Volunteers in Mission work, going to Juarez, Mexico (Operation Hogar), to the Four Corners area (Navajo reservation), to Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, and Cochabamba, Bolivia and Iquique, Chile.  In Alamogordo, she volunteered in the Alamogordo Public Schools' nutrition office, the Alamogordo Hospice program and the House of Prayer as well as the Shared Table program at Grace United Methodist Church.  She also served as President of the Kappa Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma and the Board of Directors of Landsun Homes in Carlsbad, NM.

Survivors include her son, Steven Kondo, and daughter, Patricia Lyman. 

Final service arrangements are still pending.

The Kondo family has entrusted their loved one to the care of Scenic Chapel to direct the services.

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