It didn't take me long to know what I wanted to put on Teresa's headstone when making final arrangements after she passed away on Jan. 12.
In June 2011, Bob Hammond wrote a column on Teresa's health struggles and tied in her love of the University of Wyoming sports programs, especially women's basketball, and her attempts to get back to cheering for her Cowgirls.
As many of you know, Teresa (Poindexter) is a former Cowgirls basketball player, competing for Wyoming from 1984-87. She graduated with a nursing degree from UW in 1989 and spent many years as a nurse at Ivinson Memorial Hospital and later at the Cathedral Home for Children.
In that column, Hammond wrote, "Once a Cowgirl, always a Cowgirl."
This past season, when it appeared that Teresa was going to be able to come home after a 15-month stay in various hospitals, we talked about her being able to go to a Cowgirls game, likely near the end of the season as it would give her time to recover and be able to sustain the physical aspect of attending a game. Teresa's injuries and illnesses caused her to be a paraplegic.
In a conversation with head coach Joe Legerski, who coached Teresa for one season as a young assistant under Chad Lavin, we talked about Teresa attending a game. Legerski said that when we thought that would be possible, they wanted to do something special for her. He closed the conversation by saying, "Once a Cowgirl, always a Cowgirl."
Unfortunately, we weren't able to fulfill Teresa's wish and after 10 great days at home, Teresa returned to the hospital again and later passed away.
Teresa left a legacy as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend and a caregiver. Even to the end, she was always thinking of others.
Teresa came back to Laramie twice in her life. It was her home. She loved everything about Laramie, the state and the University of Wyoming.
"Once a Cowgirl, always a Cowgirl."
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