Theresa
Antoinette “Terry”
(Marksbury) Mansheim
Theresa Antoinette “Terry” (Marksbury) Mansheim, 86, died peacefully on August 21, 2026, in Lewisburg, West Virginia, after a long illness.
Terry was born June 19, 1940, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Edward and Marie (Goeden) Marksbury. Her mother died of cancer when Terry was just 11 years old, a loss that profoundly affected Terry and her sisters. After graduating from high school, Terry married and devoted her early adult years to raising four children.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, while living in Jersey City, Terry became involved in the second-wave feminist movement and with the feminist publication Up From Under. Its ideas resonated deeply with her and helped shape a period of enormous change in her life. She began working outside the home, became involved in community organizing, and met Stephen Rutledge, who would become her husband and beloved partner. Terry and Steve shared commitments to feminism, civil rights, and social justice that remained important throughout their lives.
After moving with their family to West Virginia, Terry became a licensed practical nurse and worked in nursing in West Virginia and Kentucky. Never afraid to take an unexpected path, she later changed careers entirely and became a pipefitter at DuPont’s Belle plant, where she was one of only two women on a crew of approximately 50.
In the final chapter of her working life, Terry found especially meaningful work as a women’s advocate at the Family Refuge Center in Lewisburg, where she remained until retirement. Her commitment to advocacy extended beyond her work there: she also served for several years on the Board of Directors of the Child and Youth Advocacy Center, supporting its work on behalf of children who had experienced abuse and violence.
Terry and Steve made their home for many years in the mountains at Friars Hill, West Virginia, overlooking Cold Knob. It was a place they loved deeply, surrounded by a close-knit community of neighbors and friends. Their home was often a gathering place for potluck dinners. One of Terry’s favorites was their annual Groundhog Day potluck, for which she created hand-drawn groundhog invitations and decorations.
Family was at the center of Terry’s life. She deeply loved her four children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandson and was closely involved in their lives. She loved cooking for her family, especially Sunday dinners. A gifted quilter, she made quilts for each of her grandchildren, leaving them something made by her own hands to carry forward.
Around the age of 50, Terry learned to play the hammered dulcimer and spent many happy years making old-time, Irish, and Celtic music with a close group of friends known as Herding Cats. They gathered regularly to play together and performed locally in Lewisburg, including on First Fridays. Music remained an important part of Terry’s life.
Terry enjoyed good food, a glass of wine, the mountains she called home, and time spent with the people she loved. She was also known for reassuring her family through life’s inevitable difficulties that “the worst is over”—with varying degrees of accuracy.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Stephen Rutledge, and her parents, Edward and Marie Marksbury.
Terry is survived by her four children, Kathleen Mansheim, Thomas Mansheim, Timothy Mansheim (Sheila), and Jennifer Cherry; her grandchildren, Chloe and Luella Mansheim, Kaydee Figueroa (Ricardo), T.J. Mansheim, Michael Thaxton (Heather), and Cooper Cherry; and her great-grandson, Kane Figueroa.
She is also survived by her sisters, Mary Ann Kinsel, widow of Jim Kinsel, and Eddie Drangmeister (John); her half-sister, Rita Niles; her stepbrothers, Manfred Magnus and Wolfgang Magnus; Stephen’s siblings, Jon Rutledge (Lindy), Tony Rutledge (Renee), and Nina D’Alessandro; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.
Visitation for Terry will be held Saturday, September 26 at Morgan Funeral Home, 252 Montvue Drive, Lewisburg, WV, from 12 PM to 1 PM. A Celebration of Life will immediately follow at 1 PM. Following the service, family and friends are invited to stay and share food and memories at a potluck reception in Terry’s honor.
Online guestbook may be signed at www.morganfh.net. Arrangements entrusted to Morgan Funeral Home, Lewisburg WV.
