Teri Lynn Durfee

Creative spirit, quilter extraordinaire, friend to many, Teri Lynn Durfee, 68, of Milton Freewater, Oregon, died Sunday, January 25, 2026, after a battle with multiple myeloma blood cancer.

Teri was born April 6, 1957, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, the first child of Elbert and Helen (Booth) Durfee. Teri grew up in Dayton, Washington, and graduated from Dayton High School with the Class of ’75. She went on to attend Spokane Falls and Walla Walla Community Colleges, earning an Associate of Arts degree in graphic design.

Teri’s work career included stints in Salem, Oregon; Walla Walla, Washington; and Vancouver, British Columbia, where she fell in love with the fjord and granite cliffs of Squamish. Among her favorite jobs were working in educational services and later in graphic design at Whitman College, where she was a fixture for nearly 20 years.

An accomplished seamstress, Teri made homemade dresses as well as other outfits for her nieces and nephew as they grew up, and later a stunning cape for the May queen at Touchet, which is still used today. Teri made beautiful quilts for various family members over the years that will continue to be cherished. She also crafted beautiful potholders, bags, table runners, and other projects. Her small business, Fallen Leaf Creative, on Etsy, sold quilting products as far away as Scotland. Teri was an active member of the quilting community and made many friends, both in person and on social media, near and far.

Teri loved attending rock concerts, especially Heart and Stevie Nicks, as well as drawing, painting, and coloring. For a while, she made desk calendars featuring her nature photography. She especially enjoyed the books and TV show “Outlander.”

Teri was an avid fundraiser in the fight against cancer, walking in many Light the Night events in Portland and Walla Walla following the death of her mom from leukemia in 2003.

Teri met Jeff Petersen of Cove, Oregon, online through Yahoo.com in 2008. The couple was engaged on Valentine’s Day 2010 and married on September 10, 2011 (9-10-11) in Athena in a service including a bagpiper (Teri loved all things Scotland). They honeymooned in Squamish. The couple loved beach trips, waterfall and river walks, and especially sharing humorous moments at home.

Teri was devoted to her many friends and loved her family. She was proud to have taken three of her nieces — Ashley, Kylie, and Natalie, who later served as bridesmaids at her wedding — on vacation trips to the Oregon coast, which she loved. She was an avid fan of all their activities, including sports, 4-H, music concerts, and birthdays, which earned her the loving nickname “Aunt Teri” from many kids in the Touchet community. Teri also enjoyed cheering on her great nieces and nephews in their activities and celebrating at birthday parties.

Other survivors include her husband in the Milton Freewater home; her youngest brother, Jess, and family in Albany; and her sister-in-law, Laurie, of Touchet, as well as many other nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, whom she was very fond of.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her younger brother, Stuart.

A celebration of life is being planned for Saturday, March 21, 2026, at 2:00 PM at the Touchet Gardena Lions Hall in Touchet, WA.

Memorial contributions in Teri’s memory may be made to the Durfee scholarship of the Touchet Educational Foundation or to a charity of choice through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W Alder St, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Friends and family are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.herringgroseclose.com.