Teresa “Catherine” Dancer died Jan. 30 at the age of 45 after a more than two-year battle with brain cancer at her home in Traverse City, Mich.
Dancer, nee Craft, was born in Los Angeles on July 1, 1966. She was the youngest of six children born to Clifford Justin Craft and Carolyn Mary Craft. Dancer grew up in Malibu surrounded by her close-knit family and community. As a child she acquired the nickname “Todo,” which her siblings still use today, and later became “Peeps” to her husband Mark.
Dancer was baptized at Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church on July 24, 1966 with Teresa and Bill Harris as her godparents. She went on to attend school at OLM, where she received her first holy communion in 1974, and was confirmed and graduated from eighth grade in 1980.
Dancer then attended Louisville High School in Woodland Hills, where she graduated in 1984. During high school, she was active in theater and appeared in several plays such as “The Pajama Game” and “The Bad Seed.” Dancer later graduated from UCLA with a degree in Theatre Arts in 1988.
During college, Dancer met her future husband Mark, whom she wed at Our Lady of Malibu on Oct. 7, 1989. Dancer continued to live and work in the Los Angeles Area in the real estate and professional acting and writing fields. The couple’s first daughter, Rebecca, was born in 1992.
Dancer’s family then moved to her husband’s hometown of Traverse City, Mich. in 1993 so he could establish a law practice and the couple could raise their young family. Their second daughter, Jessica, was born in 1994.
Dancer became involved in many activities, including serving as PTO president/secretary for Eastern Elementary School, participating in various animal rescue programs, helping to further local youth dance and acting programs, working as a hospice volunteer and performing fundraising for a variety of local causes.
“Catherine’s warm, kind, generous spirit and personal ‘grace’ endeared her to everyone she met,” Dancer’s family wrote. “And everywhere she went, she made friends, many of whom she had since childhood.”
Dancer is survived by her husband Mark, her daughters Rebecca and Jessica, her mother Carolyn and siblings Carol Abrams (Gerard), Jeannie Craft (Scott), Geri Frazier (Mark), John Craft (Katherine) and Dorette Wilfley (Mark); she is also survived by Mark’s parents Jane Strauser and Richard Dancer, Mark’s brother John and his wife Barb Dancer, her 16 nieces and nephews and her pets, Boxer “Latte,” Puggle “Nilla” and cat “Mittens.” She is preceded in death by her father Clifford, who died in 2007.
A celebration of life took place Feb. 3 at the Traverse City Opera House in Michigan. A Memorial Mass will take place March 17 at Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church 3625 S. Winter Canyon Road, at 12 p.m. followed by a reception.
Please email the family at teresadancermemorial@gmail.com or call Carolyn Craft at 310.456.6203 to RSVP.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Teresa’s name to Our Lady of Malibu School, Louisville High School or a charity of your choice.