Theresa Goldsmith

Theresa Carol (DeFilippo) Goldsmith

November 15, 1937 – July 15, 2023

We mourn our loss but celebrate the life of Theresa Goldsmith, with peaceful knowledge that our God is joyously welcoming her into His Eternal Kingdom.

Born the eighth and youngest child to Frank and Rose DeFilippo in Long Branch, New Jersey, “Terry” grew up in Long Branch and met the love of her life,

James “Jim” Goldsmith, at the roller rink while he was stationed at Fort Monmouth, NJ.  After marriage, Terry and Jim lived in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan, raising their three children, Lillian (Martin), Linda (Carpp) and Buddy Goldsmith. Jim worked at United Airlines and sold Fords at Sesi Lincoln Mercury.  The family grew in 1973 with the addition of a foster son, David Waldron.  In 1974, Jim was asked by Terry’s sister, Eva Lewis’ husband Jim, to move to Florida and manage Shalimar Fence Company.  Jim and Terry owned and managed Shalimar Fence for almost 50 years.

Terry was a devoted wife of sixty-three years, dedicated mother, loving grandmother “Nana”, great-grandmother, and a steadfast friend! Terry never met a stranger and made everyone she met her family!  She had many jobs and volunteer positions over the years, touching lives as a lunch lady at Choctaw High and Longwood Elementary, helping at Irma’s Children Clothing in Santa Rosa Mall, as a volunteer for Okaloosa County Sheriff’s, Juvenile Diabetes Research,  Alzheimer’s and American Cancer Society.

When her husband Jim was diagnosed with Azheimer’s at the age of 70, Terry devoted everything to spending time with him, caring for him, and loving him! She bravely cared for him for 15 years until he passed in 2020. Her son, David Waldron, took on leadership of the Fence Company, until he passed in 2021.

Terry is survived by her sister Eva Lewis, daughter Lillian and husband Joseph Martin Jr., and their son Joseph Martin III (Trey) and his wife Chelsei, and daughter Julia Rose Martin; daughter Linda and husband Terry Carpp, and their family, Sarah Glesenkamp, Miranda and Kinsley Jones, and Beau and Rhett Stephens; and son George (Buddy) Goldsmith and wife Lisa, and their son Orry James Goldsmith and his wife Kylie Kuntz Goldsmith, and their son, Cayde James Goldsmith.

Funeral Services for family and local community will be held on Wednesday July 19, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. A reception for the family and friends will follow the funeral at “The Place” formaly known as the Brooks Beal Center located at 100 Beal Parkway NW, Ft Walton, FL 32548. A private family burial will take place at Beal Cemetery. You can watch the funeral service on livestream, www.emeraldcoasttv.com/Goldsmith. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Saint Mary’s Building Fund, the Alzheimer’s Association, or Emerald Coast Hospice.

Arrangements are entrusted to Whitehurst Powell Funeral Home in Crestview. Guest book and condolences are available online at www.whitehurstpowellfuneralhome.com

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