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Every morning, Theresa Nicke laced up her shoes and headed out the door with her husband, Chris. It was a ritual the Shirley couple had shared for years — a simple daily walk through the neighborhood where they had built their life together, raised four children, and welcomed 15 grandchildren.
On Saturday, less than a block from home, their walk ended in tragedy.
The 64-year-old grandmother was hit by a car on the shoulder of Dawn Drive near Pinelawn Avenue about 7:30 a.m. She was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital with critical injuries. Police and family have confirmed she did not survive.
“Theresa was the glue of our family,” her daughter Tiffany Haase wrote on Faceboook. “She was the person everyone turned to for advice, comfort, guidance, and unconditional love. Trying to take these next steps without her wisdom and support is something we never imagined having to do.”
Even in death, those who loved her said that Nicke found a way to give. In her final act of selflessness, she became an organ donor — ensuring, her children wrote, that “her legacy of love, generosity, and compassion lives on through those she has helped.”
Anyone who knew Theresa knew how selfless she was,” Haase said in her post. “She spent her life putting others before herself, always giving whatever she could to those in need.
“This unexpected and unimaginable tragedy has shaken our family to its core and left us heartbroken as we try to navigate life without the woman who held us all together,” Haase added.
She spoke to her mom in another post: “Mom, I love you endlessly, I’ll miss you always. Nothing will ever be the same, but I promise we will all try our best to keep moving forward and live in this … world without your physical presence.”
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Nicke is survived by her husband; her mother, Joan Thompson; her children, Chris Nicke Jr., Tiffany Haase, Eddie Haase, and Mike Nicke; her sons- and daughters-in-law Dan Shea, Kristen Nicke, Brittini Nicke, and Annie Ng; and her 15 grandchildren.
Community support for family
A GoFundMe campaign launched by the family to cover funeral, memorial and medical expenses, and to support Chris Nicke as he adjusts to life without his wife, has raised more than $22,000 through nearly 160 donations.
The driver in Saturday’s crash, Dale Cronin, 23, also of Shirley, was uninjured, police said.
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