Tekla Arlene Rex of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, passed away peacefully in her sleep on April 24th, 2025, at the age of 90, going home to be with her Lord. She was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on December 15th, 1934.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Edward F. and Tekla Alviina Johnson of Oulu, WI; her husband, Joe Rex of Northport, AL; and grandchild, Jeremy Shubert of Huntsville, AL.

She is survived by her brother, Fred Johnson of Shell Lake, WI; her children, Guy Rex and his wife, Susan, of Helena, AL; Cissy Elliott and her husband, Scott, of Tuscaloosa, AL; Joel Rex and his wife, Tammy, of Huntsville, AL; her grandchildren, Sam and Will Rex, Austin and Anna Scott Elliott, Joshua Shubert, Brittany Harrell and her husband, Gabriel; and great-grandchildren, Adyson and Abygail Wyatt, and Noah and Emmalyn Harrell.

Tekla spent her childhood on a 40-acre family homestead in a small northern Wisconsin town named Oulu. She attended South Shore High School in nearby Port Wing, where she played trombone in the band and proudly served as a cheerleader. After graduating in 1952, she went on to pursue nursing at St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Duluth, Minnesota. After completing nursing school, Tekla and some of her friends were recruited by United Airlines, where she spent the next few years flying around the world, seeing countries such as Europe, Russia, and Asia, until she retired her flight attendant wings to get married and raise a family. She met her future husband, Joe Rex, at a social function in Los Angeles, California, and the couple got married in 1961 at a chapel in Las Vegas. After living in Orange, California, for a few years, they moved to Picayune, Mississippi, where Joe worked as a fuel systems engineer on the Apollo rocket engine. In 1969, now with three children—Joel, Guy, and Cissy—the family moved to Northport, where Tekla worked as a nurse at the VA hospital. Tekla graduated with a BSN from the University of Alabama and went on to earn her nurse practitioner credentials. She retired from the VA hospital in 1997. Tekla continued to use her nursing skills as a volunteer at DCH, and she also served as a mission nurse for the First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, AL.

Tekla was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who enjoyed life to the fullest. She had the chance to surf the waves of Honolulu, snow-ski the mountains of Switzerland, and was an avid water skier who loved to ski on Big Yellow Creek near the family’s river house. She was an active member of the Tuscaloosa Sailing Club as well. Tekla loved her dog, Sadie, drinking martinis, cooking, telling funny jokes, traveling the world, sitting in her chair overlooking the water at Yellow Creek, but most of all spending time with family and friends.

Tekla never met a stranger and will be deeply missed, but her memory will live on forever.

A memorial service or a celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Metro Animal Shelter in Tekla’s memory.

The family wishes to thank everyone for their love and support during this difficult time. Your texts, calls, prayers, and thoughtful acts have brought us comfort and strength. A special thanks to The Crossings, who provided excellent care to Tekla, and to her Sunday School class at First Presbyterian, who have always been faithfully by her side. We love you all.

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