Popular cafeteria worker at Timothy Road Elementary in Athens struggles after husband's death

Wayne Ford, Athens Banner-Herald
·3 min read
Teresa Coreas, a cafeteria worker at Timothy Road Elementary School, holds a photo of her husband, who died recently of a rare and incurable disease.
Teresa Coreas, a cafeteria worker at Timothy Road Elementary School, holds a photo of her husband, who died recently of a rare and incurable disease.

For the past seven years, Teresa Coreas has worked in the lunchroom at Timothy Road Elementary School in Athens, where she interacted on a daily basis with students and teachers.

Today, she is temporarily away from the job as she gathers her emotions following the July 24 death of her husband, Nelson Coreas, to an incurable disease.

In the wake of her husband’s death, Coreas found herself in a financial bind without enough income for her mortgage payments and other bills. Coreas' son, Giovanni Coreas, subsequently set up a GoFundMe page to raise $13,200 — equivalent to a year’s income that she would earn working for the school system.

“I’m not feeling well,” Coreas said recently by phone from her son’s home in Philadelphia, Pa., where she is visiting.

Nelson Coreas suffered from a rare autoimmune disease called scleroderma, which causes the skin to harden and can also cause hardening of the internal organs.

“The illness was very bad for him. He suffered a lot of pain,” she said, adding that he eventually lost the desire to live.

Scleroderma, a disease with no cure

Giovanni Coreas said doctors had recently inserted an IV into his father's heart and other procedures to treat the symptoms. Doctors told his father that he had eight years to live with a good prognosis and if matters were worse, he might have two years.

“It wasn’t even two months,” his son said. “There is no cure for it."

While she worked at the school, Teresa Coreas did not let the burden of her husband's illness carry over to her work.

"She was a trooper. She came to work every day and did not show signs that something was wrong," said the school's nutrition manager, Jason Sheridan.

"She is very dedicated and she worked in the after-school program as well and had a good relationship with the kids," Sheridan said, adding that children called her "Ms. Teresa."

"With the teachers and staff, she is regarded well," he said.

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Giovanni Coreas said that before his father died, he called the Social Security office and was assured his money would go to his wife.

“She didn’t make much working in the cafeteria so the Social Security money would cover the mortgage and major expenses,” said the son, who was a teacher at Hilsman Middle School before he and his family moved to Pennsylvania.

“It turns out when we called to let Social Security know he had passed away, they said she is not going to get anything unless she is disabled herself or if she is 60,” he said. Teresa Coreas is 56.

Concerned about his mother's situation, Coreas said he decided to set up the GoFundMe page.

“I said to my wife (Elizabeth) there are a lot of kind people in Athens. We’ll put her story out there,” he said.

He recently took his mother to his home.

“I felt like Mom needed a change of scenery for a while,” he said. “Right now, the plan is for her to return to work, but she has a lot to process. This is her first time being alone.”

To view the GoFundMe, visit https://gf.me/v/c/4tbf/help-lunch-lady-ms-teresa

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens school cafeteria worker struggling after husband's death