Terry S. Singer May 21, 1936 – January 20, 2019 Share this obituary Sign Guestbook| Send Sympathy Card Terry S. Singer May 21, 1936 to Jan. 20, 2019 Terry S. Singer spent most of his career working as a marketing and sales executive specializing in international trade, especially in the automotive industry. He travelled extensively, sought out adventure, and cherished his vintage sports cars, especially Corvettes and Mustangs — the noisier the engine, the better.
Mr. Singer was born on May 21, 1936, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Francisco, California, a year before the Golden Gate Bridge opened. He died early on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in West Palm Beach, Florida, following a short hospital stay and illness related to his dementia.
He was 82. Mr. Singer loved to recount stories of his youth in California. His father, Charles H. Singer, owned several pharmacies in downtown San Francisco, including the Civic Center Pharmacy.
His mother, Muriel Singer (nee Newcomb) worked alongside Charlie in the family businesses. The Singers’ glamorous home in Hillsborough, Calif. was notorious for its poolside parties.
Young Terry was a swimmer on the Beresford Country Club swim team and a standout high school football player. His sophomore year, Charlie Singer surprised Terry and his sister, Bonnie, by deciding to buy a pear ranch in El Dorado County. They named their new homestead the Rainbow Ridge Ranch.
There, on Pilot Hill, near the American River, Terry learned to ride a palomino, lay irrigation pipes, fix tractors, hunt quail and help with the pear harvest. Terry graduated from Placer High School in Auburn, Calif. , with the Class of 1954.
He often said the movie, “American Graffiti” perfectly captured his high school experience. Another movie inspired him: “From Here to Eternity”. After seeing it, he and his friends were moved join the U.S. Marine Corps as the Korean War wound down.
His service was briefly interrupted when his father’s pear truck lost its brakes and went off a cliff. While his father and sister convalesced, Terry had to take emergency leave to bring in the harvest. He returned to duty and was discharged honorably from the Marine Corps as a Corporal in 1957.
A civilian again, Terry became more serious about his schooling, taking courses at San Mateo College and then transferring into the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied international trade and graduated in 1961. On a dare, he drove to Reno and married his red-headed sweetheart, Marilyn L. Erickson. With her help typing his papers, he earned a master’s in international business in 1962 from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Out of Thunderbird, his first job in international business was with Cummins Engines, Inc. in Columbus, Indiana. Cummins soon sent Terry and Marilyn to Lisbon, Portugal, where Terry worked as a sales representative covering Spain, Portugal and Africa. Their son, Scott Frederick Singer, was born in Lisbon in 1965.
Through the years, Terry’s sales work led him to move the family to many cities. After Lisbon they moved to Brussels, Belgium, and then Chicago, Illinois, where Terry worked for Allis Chalmers and Hendrickson. There, his daughter Stacey Lynn Singer was born, in 1968.
After six years in Illinois, the family moved to Monona, Wisconsin, where Terry worked for many years for Madison Kipp Corp. Terry loved to recount (and embellish) his international adventures, including joining a trade mission to the USSR, where one night, after having a few vodkas, he sang the Marine Corps hymn in Red Square. (On his 80th birthday, alerted by his son, the Commandant of the Marine Corps congratulated Terry on his Red Square escapades.
) Terry and Marilyn split after their children graduated college. Camping near the Grand Canyon, Terry met his future second wife, Susan Pieszchala. In 1997, the two were married in a ceremony in Quepos, Costa Rica.
After leaving Madison Kipp, Terry sold liquor control systems for Berg Company of Madison, Wis. , then later sold real estate throughout Dane County, Wisconsin, for Stark Company and then Keller-Williams. Terry and Susan retired in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Terry, Scott, and grandson Matt Singer spent a lot of time at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, with their cars. Over the years, Terry had owned a total of 13 Corvettes. Terry also enjoyed long political conversations with his granddaughter, Rachael Singer.
In his final months of life, Terry lived at MorseLife Memory Care in West Palm Beach, cared for by his daughter, Stacey, and visited frequently by his grandsons James and Thomas DeLoye. Terry is survived by his wife, Susan Pieszchala; his former wife Marilyn Singer; his sister, Bonnie Connich; his son and daughter-in-law, Scott Singer and Kimberly Sharpe Singer of Mahtomedi, Minn. , grandchildren Matthew Singer and Rachael Singer; and also by daughter and son-in-law Stacey Singer DeLoye and Michael DeLoye of Boynton Beach, Florida, and grandsons James DeLoye and Thomas DeLoye.
Plans to celebrate Terry Singer’s life are in the works. He preferred a party to a funeral, so a party in his honor will take place at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin in the summer of 2019. Watch this space for updates.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
