Teresa Michele Washington

Teresa Michele Washington was known as dutiful, creative, outspoken, and loving to all who were blessed to know her. 

She treasured spending time with her family, and was the driving inspiration behind countless close-knit gatherings, many of which came to be known as “SAM’s” or “Sundays at Mema’s. Above all else, she prided herself on being a grandmother, always prioritizing her family despite the distance.

She carried her dutiful spirit in her work as a Finance Supervisor with Santa Barbara County’s Child Support Services, where she advocated for single parents and children. Through her 30-year career, many of her colleagues and mentees grew to see her as family and a dear friend of their own.  

Her creativity was deeply rooted in her practice as an actress featured in several local plays, including “A Christmas Carol,” where she was able to live out her love for period pieces in front of an audience. This same creativity was ever-present in her lifelong passion for sewing and quilting, through which she created dozens of beautiful quilts independently and during time with community sewing groups.

 Teresa’s outspoken nature was something loved ones came to depend on. Whether solicited or not, you would hear with humorous wit exactly what was on her mind. It’s through her outspoken honesty, creative passion, and dutiful dedication that Teresa was able to weave a tapestry of a life well lived. Full, and bright with faith, laughter, and family.

Teresa was born on April 22, 1955, in Flint, Michigan, to hardworking parents, and her Midwestern tenacity motivated her during her time in Chicago and empowered her to settle in Southern California, where she raised her eldest son. It’s there in Ventura and Oxnard that she blossomed, built community in faith, chose her family, and found the love of her life in her husband, Ruben, for 20 fulfilling years.  

Teresa passed away from a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in the loving company of her devoted husband and her adoring granddaughter.  

She is predeceased by her father, Francis Hartfield, and brother Michael Hartfield. She is eternally loved and remembered by: her husband Ruben, sons Gene Diltz (Rebecca Diltz), Ryan Washington, and Brandon Washington (Lauren Washington), bonus daughter Lelia Richardson, her mother Rose Hartfield, her grandchildren Imani Diltz, Omari Diltz, Carma Washington, Brooklyn Washington and Xavier Diltz, siblings Roger Boatright,  Belinda Royster, Joseph Hartfield, Marva Heard, Frederick Calloway and Phyllis Hunt, along with many more loving friends and family.  

A Celebration of Life will be held for Teresa at Reardon Funeral Home, 511 North A Street, Oxnard, Friday, May 22, at 2:30 p.m. The family invites all who knew her to attend and honor her life, and continue her practice of gathering in the name of love. 

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