Teresa C. (Stauffer) Foster (1916 - 1998)

Born 11 Jan 1916 in Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Died 15 Mar 1998 at age 82 in Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

Biography

Teresa Stauffer Foster worked as a nurse at Tripler General Hospital during the Pearl Harbor attacks. Only 82 nurses were stationed in Hawaii with the US Army Corps when the attacks occurred.

Teresa C. Stauffer was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on 11 January 1916 to Samuel Martin Stauffer and Anna Mary Dorwart.^[1] She graduated from St. Joseph Nursing School in 1937 and joined the Army Nurse Corps at the age of 25. These women were military pioneers, serving before the creation of other women's military branches such as the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) and the Navy’s Women’s Reserve program (WAVES). At the time, nurses had to be single; married women were dismissed until a few years later, when the need for nurses necessitated a rule change.^[2]

On the morning of 7 December 1941, Stauffer and her friends had just finished a night shift. They decided to go for an early morning walk in the Moanalua Gardens before heading to bed. Low-flying planes went past them, and one of the pilots waved; she waved back. Stauffer later realized they had been Japanese pilots on their way to attack Pearl Harbor. Moments later, someone rode up on horseback to announce the attacks, and the nurses rushed back to the hospital, where they started marking the wounded's foreheads with lipstick to help with triage and keep track of who had received pain medication. In the weeks following the attack, night nurses worked in near-darkness under blackout orders.^[3][2]

After the war, Stauffer married John Foster. They had 1 daughter together, but she was widowed by the 1950 census.^[4] She died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1998 and is buried at Saint Josephs New Roman Catholic Cemetery in Bausman, Pennsylvania.^[5][6][7]

Sources

1. ↑ "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K95-86L4 : 10 February 2023), Teresa C Stauffer.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Pearl Harbor Nurses." Pearl Harbor Warbirds. Accessed on 21 October 2023 via https://pearlharborwarbirds.com/pearl-harbor-nurses/.
3. ↑ 7 December 2022. "‘She’s relentless’: Daughter of Lancaster County native, Pearl Harbor nurse keeps her mother’s story alive." Lancaster Online (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Accessed on 21 October 2023 via https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/she-s-relentless-daughter-of-lancaster-county-native-pearl-harbor-nurse-keeps-her-mother-s/article_5fafa68c-52e1-11ec-80c9-2f65c1ea930a.html#3.
4. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XBV-RS68 : Tue Oct 03 08:57:40 UTC 2023), Entry for Fred J Dorwart and Theresa S Foster, 4 April 1950.
5. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J2WC-LTL : 8 January 2021), Teresa C S T Foster, 15 Mar 1998; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86469058/teresa-c-foster: accessed 21 October 2023), memorial page for Teresa C Stauffer Foster (11 Jan 1916–15 Mar 1998), Find a Grave Memorial ID 86469058, citing Saint Josephs New Roman Catholic Cemetery, Bausman, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Yvonne Freed Dunn (contributor 47421401).
7. ↑ 16 March 1998. Obituary for Teresa C. Foster. Lancaster New Era (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Accessed on 21 October 2023 via https://www.newspapers.com/article/lancaster-new-era-obituary-for-teresa-c/133810524/.

See also:

• Female Military Nurses of Pearl Harbor Remembered by Family