Theresa Grace Sperber, 73, of Shrewsbury, passed away in the early hours of April 13 at Riverview Hospital in Red Bank, after a remarkably courageous and graceful battle with cancer.
She was born Dec. 26, 1945 in Long Branch to Grace DeMaria and Ralph Ribustelli. While she was too polite to point it out, this did not make her a Christmas baby, nor did she relish in discovering birthday presents under the Christmas tree.
She enjoyed a childhood in Little Silver with her siblings, Robert Ribustelli and Susan Ribustelli Smith, great aunt Yolanda DeMaria and a gaggle of cousins who remained dear friends until her final days.
Worth noting: While in high school at Red Bank Catholic she could be observed happily chauffeuring the sisters around town in her convertible. She attended Monmouth University, where she met Paul Sperber, her beloved husband of 50 years. Sunday dinner was an institution in the Ribustelli household and a test that Paul had to pass before being allowed entry to the clan. He made it through, though not without bruises, and remains known as “the milk drinker” in some corners of the family.
Together Paul and Terry maintained the important heritage of family and handcrafted food and often gathered the extended family to celebrate life’s moments, both the special and the mundane. Terry cherished her undergraduate and subsequent working years at Monmouth University. After launching her four daughters she began work at K. Hovnanian Companies as a business analyst in 1995 and spent the remainder of her career there.
She is survived by her husband Paul; daughters Theresa (Teeter) Sperber, Amy Sperber (Matt Owens), Heather Sperber (Greg Camlin), and Christine Sperber (Josh Keal); three granddaughters, Ida, Eloise and Olive, who provided her cancer-fighting super-powers; brother Robert Ribustelli; sister Susan Ribustelli Smith; nieces Kelly and Rebecca; great-aunt Yolanda DeMaria; her loving cousins; and beloved lifelong friends.
A Mass was celebrated April 16 by Father Jim in her honor at Nativity Church in Fair Haven. The family received visitors preceding the Mass.
Special thanks to the nursing staff at Riverview Hospital Booker Cancer Center who endeavored to make her final days both comfortable and dignified and to the entire staff at Regional Cancer Care Associates of Little Silver, who became great sources of comfort and strength throughout her journey.
