Teresa Fischlowitz

July 6, 1937 - January 17, 2023

SAN DIEGO — Teresa (‘nee Racz) was born in what is now Slovakia on July 6, 1937. She passed away peacefully surrounded by family in her home on January 17, 2023. She is survived by her sons Richard (Tammy) and Robert (Camden), and granddaughter Summer Fischlowitz.

Teresa was a child Holocaust survivor. Her family was among 1,500 prisoners released in exchange for valuables taken from wealthy Hungarian families. Teresa lived in Switzerland, Hungary, and Venezuela, before settling in the United States. She attended school in six languages on three continents and finally finished high school in Los Angeles.

After winning an opera competition while at UCLA, Teresa had a brief career with the New York City Opera. Keeping her love of opera, she decided a teaching career was more to her liking. In 1967 Teresa was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship at the John F. Kennedy school in Berlin. There she met Dieter Hellmiss. They married in 1968 in Berlin, and after returning to Los Angeles, she and Dieter had two sons, Richard and Robert. Dieter died of cancer in 1979, and Teresa raised her two sons on her own. Teresa eventually married Merle Fischlowitz in 1991. Teresa and Merle were both highly involved in San Diego’s classical music and Jewish communities.

A Celebration of Life ceremony is scheduled for 3:00 pm, March 12, at Temple Adat Shalom in Poway. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to San Diego Opera, Mainly Mozart, or Cygnet Theatre.

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1950 - 2022