Teresa Turbo!
Teresa was born in Shelbyville to Bob and Sheba Crouch. The 3rd of three kids, she had an older brother, Tom and an older sister, Debra. They all doted on her as the “baby” of the family.
Here are some pictures of her Mom and Dad a few years before she was born.
She grew up in Columbus, doing all the normal girl stuff like talking on the phone and eating plenty of dessert . As you can see, dessert has been a reoccurring theme throughout her life
From her early school pictures, you can see that she’s always been a cutie
In Columbus they had a lot of family nearby and would always get together for holidays and camping at Lake Monroe or Nolin Reservoir.
Teresa eventually moved to Indianapolis to do exciting things like working at Don's Guns and managing an office supply store. Little did she know at the time, that office supply job would change her life… more on that in a minute.
In 1985 Jessica was born, followed by Emily in 1987. They didn’t look this grown-up in the 80’s, but it was close! A few years later, her Mom married Jack Miller. They lived in Edinburgh, so there were frequent trips for the girls to see Mamaw and Papaw Miller.
Life changed in the early 90’s when Teresa met a guy at work. That’s not exactly true… Teresa and Chuck first met in the 80’s when Chuck was still in high school. But it wasn’t until 1993 when they started to work together full time that their friendship blossomed. They would go to lunch together often and enjoyed the same kinds of music, often hanging out after work at their favorite spot “Barrel House Blues”. Chuck admits later that he had been attracted to T as long as he could remember… but he kept it to himself at that point.
Things changed in December of 94, when neither T nor Chuck had a date to the company Christmas party. There is much controversy over who asked who to the party, but they ended up going together, none the less. Many eyebrows were raised as the two danced together to the big band music that night…. “I thought they were just friends…”
Fast forward to October 1995. Chuck finally got the nerve to propose to T! After dinner at Zorro’s, desert at Finale’s and a carriage ride downtown, the question was popped and she said “YES!”.
The following months were crazy, getting ready for a wedding and honeymoon, which culminated on February 21, 1996
Much bliss and happiness ensued in the proceeding years! Since then, there have been birthdays, holidays, vacations, deaths and weddings, and they have done it all together as a happy family.
The following pictures are just snapshots in time of fun and family through the years.
Teresa, Debra, their Mom and Grandma
The Crazy Crouch Cousins and Uncle Dick.
Christmas at home with Bandit the good dog and Boo boo kitty.
Thanksgiving has always been a time for the whole family to get together. And of course napping after the big meal.
And of course, T’s favorite summer pastime… fun in the pool.
Cars !
The legend of Teresa Turbo started with a little blue Miata. The car looked innocent enough, harmless actually, and was a lot of fun to cruise in. Everything seemed quite normal… until Teresa joined the Miata Club.
She said that she joined to enjoy the company of other top-down cruisers, but deep inside she was just using their friendly exterior as a front for her master plan – to rid the roadways of criminal lane hogs and minivan drivers.
Unbeknownst to her husband Chuck, when Teresa got behind the wheel it transformed from a simple roadster to “The Blue Beast” and she became Teresa Turbo!
Rippling with turbo power, TT and The Blue Beast would terrorize back roads in search of slow moving vehicles and unwitting lane hogs. Curves were straightened and straights were vaporized in a cloud of boosted power!
TT has become something of a folk hero in the roadster community. She’s a back road barnstormer who comes out when the weather is clear and the tops are down. With hair billowing in the wind, she searches for wrong-doers that would keep other weaker roadster drivers from fully enjoying their passion for the open road. Left lane bandits and parkway road hogs beware! With the carve of a corner and the clip of an apex, TT will put them in the weeds, clearing a wide swath for her roadster followers to speed through. Many a wrong-doer has felt the sting of her chrome exhaust pipes as she blasts past in a blur of high-test fumes and blue paint.
Though we would like to think it possible, TT can’t fight for roadster justice every day. During the week, she is often disguised as a mild mannered office product sales rep… though her secret persona is always lying close to the surface, as she drives her turbocharged sedan sedately through traffic.
Interests
Teresa Turbo is a complex individual with many interests. As one might assume, her range of expertise includes driving turbo cars, traveling with her Miata Club friends and vanquishing bad drivers into the weeds. If you continue down this page, you will gain some insight on the other things that rev TT’s motor.
TT loves nature, gardening and hummingbirds. Her garden is expansive and full of all the flowers that hummingbirds love.
Traveling is a passion of TT, whether it’s Brown County for hiking or the warm sun of Florida. TT has taken trips to some rather exotic locations, like the island of Tobago.
Located off the coast of Venezuela, Tobago is a tropical paradise. Over half of the island is a tropical rainforest, inhabited by exotic birds and wildlife. With crystal blue waters and warm gulf breezes, it is the perfect place to decompress and forget that the rest of the world exists. The native people are the friendliest in the Caribbean, making everyone feel totally at home and welcome. It took Chuck and 3 other travelers to drag TT on to the airplane when it was time to leave.
To contribute to TT's "Retire to Tobago" Fund click here.
Closer to home, there are three other favorite spots. Deals Gap and the Great Smoky Mountains are a frequent destination.
For those that don’t know, Deals Gap is a drivers paradise. 318 curves in 11 miles, up and down the mountain on the border of Tennesee and North Carolina. Each year, TT leads a pack of roadster fanatics to “slay the dragon”. Truth be told, The Gap is one of the first places many had seen TT in action. It was a sight to behold as she shifted and drifted her way up and down the mountain.
TT loves to get away to Florida. Though not as exotic as Tobago, it offers warm sun and sand to soothe the soul. Fort Myers is a favorite, but Fort Lauderdale and Miami and close runners-up.
Lake Tahoe holds a special place in her heart – it’s where she and Chuck spent their honeymoon in 1996. It was also the place where she first snow skied. Her ski instructor’s name was “Spider”, and he was afraid to keep up with her as she streaked down the hill at Mach 5, crouched down with her ski poles tucked in behind her.
Tahoe was a winter wonderland, with a 7 foot base of snow and another 12” their first night on the mountain. She had the experience of a lifetime behind a horse drawn sleigh, as the snow fell so heavy that they could barely see the outline of the trees around them.
She also got to skate in the ice rink at Squaw Valley, where the 1960 Olympic Games were held. It was a beautiful sight to skate outside among the redwood trees as snow gently fell on the ice. After that, hot chocolate took off the chill and then it was on to snow tubing down the ski runs! TT was in her element – she was going so fast that her tube flew off the banked turn at the end of the run, shooting her 6 feet in the air. The real problem is, even after being warned she continued to perform her aerial display. After several flying attempts, they closed the run to prevent others from following her “bad” example.
