Terrence Kingsley Absher December 24, 1940-November 21, 2023

Born December 24, 1940, at the University Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma, to Mrs. Maurine H. Absher and husband Henry J. Absher of Perry, Oklahoma, Terrence Kingsley Absher was their fourth child.

Terrence attended public schools in Clifton, AZ, K-first grade. He later attended public schools at Stillwater and Shidler, OK, and Ark City, KS. He completed high school at Stillwater, OK, in 1958. He attended Northeastern Jr. College at Miami, then transferred to Oklahoma State University at Stillwater, earning a B.S. in Engineering and Applied Sciences. He taught for the Washoe County Schools in Reno, NV, Bisbee Schools in Bisbee, AZ, and Yarbrough Schools in Texas County, Oklahoma. In his summers he worked as a union carpenter, Local 971, and in the Toiyabe National Forest as a G-S-5 construction site inspector.

Starting in the early 1960s through the 1970s, he taught “shop” at Traner Middle School and Wooster High School.

In 1974, the Washoe County School District granted Terrence a leave of absence with one half pay to do graduate work at Kansas State University. There he received his M.S. in Continuing Adult Education. In 1979, he was appointed the Teaching Assistant Principal for the E. M. Johnson Schools, K-12, in Gerlach, NV. Two years later, he was transferred to Nixon, NV, as the teaching Principal, 9-12. In 1981, he was assigned to Reno High School, where he taught math until he retired.

He also taught in the local carpenter apprenticeship program and hunter’s safety program.

After retirement in 1994, Terrence taught Natural Sciences for five years at Morrison College, Reno, NV. In the early 2000s, he drove the Customer Service Van for Lithia Auto group. He self-published five novels about Nevada life and the importance of family.

Terrence is preceded in death by both parents, three of his five siblings (Richard, Harold, and Butch), as well as his wife of 52 years and 26 days, Earlene. He is survived by three children: Allison, Aaron, and Amy, and two grandchildren: Jessa and Bradley.

When asked why he left Oklahoma, he responded, “I do not like tornados, and Nevada paid one third more.” When asked why he stayed in Nevada, he replied, “Money, friends, open public lands, and beautiful mountains.”

Terrence passed away on November 21, 2023. He will be interred next to his wife at Mountain View Cemetery.

Donations in his memory can be made to the Veterans Guest House, 880 Locust St, Reno, NV 89502 or at

https://www.veteransguesthouse.org/