Teresa Oduor

Teresa Leigh Oduor, 1957–2026, of Madison, Alabama, passed away on March 12, 2026, in Huntsville, Alabama, after a short illness.

Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Teresa grew up in Michigan and Canada while her father, Rev. Al Kent, attended seminary. Her family later settled in Alabama, where she graduated from Decatur High School in Decatur. She attended Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga for three years before traveling to Nairobi, Kenya, in 1979 as a short-term missionary with Child Evangelism Fellowship. She returned to Kenya in 1984 as a full-time missionary, reaching many children through Good News Clubs. In 2013, after her children had graduated from high school, she completed her degree at Tennessee State University in Nashville.

While serving in Kenya, Teresa met Thomas W. Oduor. They married in Nairobi in August 1986 and were blessed with four children, all born in Nairobi: Joy Adhiambo Miller (Michael) of Tallahassee, Florida; Job Onyango (Christina) of Knoxville, Tennessee; Josiah Ochieng of Madison, Alabama; and Joanna Dorcas Aluoch of Lebanon, Tennessee. She was the devoted grandmother of Jurias, Oliver, Eleanor, Lonnie, Henry, William, and Michaela. She is also survived by her husband Thomas of Anyiko Konjra Village, Gem Yala, Siaya County, Kenya; her father Rev. Al Kent and the late Nancy Jones Kent of Lebanon, Tennessee; sisters Alicia Hovies (Tom) and Janet Beam (Dennis); and sister-in-law Lillian Atieno Msula of Nairobi, Kenya.

A woman of deep faith who accepted Christ at an early age, Teresa felt called to children’s ministry. In every church she and her family attended, she taught in vacation Bible schools and sang in the choir. She was a gifted seamstress who enjoyed creating garments from African fabrics and sewing special items for her grandchildren, even teaching one of them to sew in her final days. She and Thomas had recently begun building their retirement home in Anyiko Konjra Village, Kenya, as they looked forward to celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in August.