White Funeral Home
400 First Street West
Independence, Iowa 50644

Waterloo – Teresa Kay (Chesmore) Lake, 61, of Waterloo died Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of natural causes, at her home.

Funeral Services will be held at White Funeral Home in Independence at 11:00 am on Monday, May 3rd with visitation from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. before the service. Burial will follow the service at the Quasqueton Cemetery.

Teresa Kay (Tess) Lake was born June 29th, 1959, the daughter of Kermit and Kathleen (DeWald) Chesmore in Independence, Iowa. She graduated from East Buchanan High School in Winthrop, with the Class of 1977, and then Clarke College in Dubuque in 1981. In 1985 she married Dan Lake in Independence, Iowa. To this union, one daughter was born, Elizabeth Mary Lake of Cedar Rapids. Dan and Tess later divorced.

Teresa was employed at Buchanan County Health Center in Independence for several years. She most recently was employed as a hostess at the Brown Bottle restaurant in Waterloo.

Teresa loved having been raised on the farm just outside Quasqueton. She had a love of nature and animals and as a young girl helped with all the farm chores; she especially loved the Spring when the baby chicks were born. She had every pet imaginable and especially loved her palomino horse, Tamyre. Her dad told the story that she always wanted to go outside with him, even in the winter. She was so small he jokingly said he tied a rope around her waist so he wouldn’t lose her in the snow!

Tess was engaged to be married to Bruce Wehner in October 2021 and they were both looking forward to their wedding.

Teresa is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth, several aunts and cousins and her fiancée, Bruce. She was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, several aunts, uncles and cousins and a baby sister, Mary Kay who died at birth.

White Funeral Home of Independence is in charge of arrangements.