Teresa Lynn McKillip

Teresa Lynn McKillip

Muscatine

Teresa Lynn (Pallischeck) McKillip (age 65), devoted farmer’s wife, loving mother, proud grandmother, caring sister, and loyal friend, passed away peacefully at her home on the farm on Friday, September 12 with her husband of 47 years, Gary McKillip, and her only child, Shelly Lynn (McKillip) Maharry, by her side. Her ashes will be interred privately by her family. Those who wish to honor her memory are invited to join her family at a Celebration of Life at the Rendezvous Banquet and Catering Facility in Muscatine from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Memorial gifts can be made to the Muscatine Humane Society. The Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Teresa was born August 16, 1960, in Muscatine, Iowa to Frank and Virginia (Lincoln) Pallischeck. She was the eldest of their four children. Teresa attended Junior and Senior High School in Wilton, Iowa, graduating in 1978. During her youth, she loved riding horses with her cousins and girlfriends, running track, and playing softball. In June 1977, she met the love of her life, Gary McKillip, at the Atalissa Fireman’s Street Dance. Their love quickly grew and they were married on February 10, 1978. The couple proudly welcomed what would be their only child, Shelly, on January 2, 1979, during one of Iowa’s most historic blizzards.

In 1981, as a 20-year-old wife and mother, Teresa fell ill with leukemia and began receiving care at the University of Iowa Hospital, where a new treatment was being offered called a bone marrow transplant. Teresa’s only brother, Dewayne, was a perfect bone marrow match. Dewayne’s donated bone marrow became Teresa’s gift of life, and the transplant was a success. Teresa was one of the first five patients to receive a bone marrow transplant at University of Iowa Hospital. For the rest of her life, Teresa remained cancer free.

When Teresa’s health improved following the bone marrow transplant, she began her career at SunMart working in the bakeries at both the Park Avenue and Grandview Avenue locations. It was in these bakeries she developed her scratch-baking and cake decorating skills. SunMart was also where Teresa met her best friend of 41 years, Brenda (Frieden) Bieri. When EconoFoods opened in Muscatine, Teresa was hired in the bakery to help open the store and later was promoted to bakery manager. She worked at EconoFoods for 16 years. Teresa’s final career transition was to Wal-Mart in Muscatine where she was the bakery and deli manager. She would go on to work in various positions within the store for 22 years until her retirement due to a decline in her health in 2022.

Teresa used her baking skills outside the workplace as well. As a talented cake decorator, she made custom wedding, graduation, anniversary, and birthday cakes for countless friends and family. She found great joy in using her creativity to help others celebrate life’s special occasions. Teresa was a hardworking woman of many talents. She loved to cook, bake, craft, sew, decorate, and garden, even completing Iowa State University Extension’s Master Gardener program together with her daughter. She had a special love for animals, welcoming an endless list of stray dogs and cats onto the farm and into her home and heart over the years. Above all else, she loved being a grandmother, watching her two grandchildren grow into wonderful young adults. This spring, she was so proud to see her grandson, Brevin Gary Buster, graduate from Purdue University and begin his career in cybersecurity, and granddaughter, Sabrina Violet Maharry, graduate from Iowa City High School and then start her freshman year of college on September 2 at New York University in New York City.

Teresa loved her life with Gary on the farm. With compassionate guidance from the University of Iowa Palliative Care Team, Iowa City Hospice, and Teresa’s sister-in-law, Christine Draves, RN, Teresa returned to her home for hospice care after a brief hospital stay on Thursday, September 11, a beautiful and warm fall day the family will always remember. Prior to her peaceful passing less than 24 hours after returning home, Teresa was able to acknowledge the presence of her father, Frank, and brother, “Dewey,” by her side. The farm is where Teresa’s ashes will find their final resting place.

Those left to honor her memory are her husband, Gary McKillip of Muscatine; daughter, Shelly Maharry and her husband, Dr. Michael Maharry of Iowa City; grandchildren, Brevin Buster and Sabrina Maharry of Iowa City, father, Frank Pallischeck of Moscow; brother, Dewayne (Charlotte) Pallischeck of Moscow and their daughters Natalee and Kenzie; sister, Lorraine Hinkhouse of Eliza, Illinois and her children Tonya, Darren, and Tearney; sister, LeeAnn (Dave) Neipert of Wilton and their son Jacob; niece, Kimberlee (John) Hanna of West Branch and their son Kasen; in-laws, David and Christine Draves of Muscatine and their children Stacey and Matthew, in-laws, Richard and Sharon Dickman of Lost Nation and their children Andrew and Rebecca; niece by love, Angel Oepping (Michael Block) and her daughter Josephine of Surprise, Arizona; aunt, Mary Lincoln of Walcott; very special great-nieces and -nephews: Benjamin, Katelin, Jacob, Abbigail, Maci, Aubrie, Dayton, Holden, Greyson, and Braylee; and best friend, Brenda Bieri of Eliza, Illinois.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Virginia “Ginger” Pallischeck, her grandparents, Ernest and Violet Lorraine Lincoln, her great-grandparents Howard and Gladys Hood, great-uncles, Jack and Mac Hood, and uncle, James Lincoln.

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the staff of the University of Iowa Health Care Dialysis Center in Muscatine for their 3 years of care and kindness delivered to Teresa during her treatment for end-stage renal disease.