Teresa Kay Kobelt

MIDDLETON - On February 19, 2026, we lost a good person, a devoted mother, a loving daughter and sister, a caring friend, and a terrific lawyer.

Teresa Kobelt was born on December 6, 1960, in Sheboygan, Wis., the youngest child of Fred and Kathy Stessman. She has always been kind, tough, smart, a little stubborn, and quick to stand up for what she thought was right. She had an infectious laugh and no tolerance for bullies. Despite the pain and discomfort that she lived with during her last 18 months, she took the time to make meals for others, keep up with friends, visit with family, volunteer her time in a free legal clinic, and protect her client’s interests. Following the principles of What Would Teresa Do could be a recipe for a full and virtuous life.

Art, live music, and the outdoors fed Teresa’s soul. She spent some of her best recent moments listening to music at the Fairyland house concert series, The Shitty Barn in Spring Green, and local jazz performances. She fed her passion for live theater with season tickets to Forward Theater. She believed in protecting the environment for future generations and constantly looked for ways to help. As a proud “Sheboygan girl,” she loved a good beer, especially hoppy IPA’s and smoky porters. Most of all, she loved going to bed early and sitting under a warm blanket with her cats. After her knees failed her, she gave up running and turned to cycling, becoming an accomplished endurance cyclist with the Lymphomaniacs cycling team and Bombay Bicycle Club of Madison. Her proudest cycling achievement was completing the 2022 Ride Across Wisconsin, riding 235 miles over two days from La Crosse to Milwaukee.

Professionally, she focused her law practice on business law, real estate, and business litigation. After graduating from Sheboygan South High School in 1979, she attended the UW-Madison where she received her B.A. in Political Science in 1983. At her sister’s urging, she decided to go to law school and received her J.D. from the UW Law School in 1988. She started her legal career in Milwaukee. Then she took a four-year break from law practice and moved to the Washington, D.C. area with her then husband to raise their two children. She returned to Middleton and the law in 1996, joining the law firm then known as Haley Palmersheim SC, where she enjoyed helping clients for over 17 years. After owning her own law firm in downtown Middleton for several years, she joined Bartelt Grob SC where she retired from full-time practice in December after eight years.

Teresa was an active volunteer in the legal community. She served as a Supplemental Court Commissioner for the Dane County Circuit Court for many years. Within the Dane County Bar Association (DCBA), she served on the board of directors for ten years and as President for the 2008-09 term. The DCBA’s Program and History and Memorials Committees also benefited from her dedication. She was an active member of the Executive Board of the James E. Doyle Inn of Court from 2021-2025. She was a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors in 2012 and served on the Continuing Legal Education Committee from 2004-10. In one of her final acts of service to the legal community, in November, she shared her reflections on one of the best parts of being a lawyer in a blog post for the State Bar entitled, "We are Better Lawyers When We're Not Alone."

Teresa is survived by her partner, Jeffery Brown; son, Eric Kobelt; daughter, Julia (Dominic Sivitilli) Kobelt; mother, Kathleen Stessman; sister, Tama (Scott) Gluck; brother, Tim (Diane) Stessman; niece, Olivia Gluck; and nephew, Owen (Jackie) Gluck. She was preceded in death by her father, Frederick Stessman.

Private family burial will be held at Natural Path Sanctuary.
 

The family would like to thank all the staff who treated and helped her at the UW Hospital and Clinics, the UW Carbone Cancer Center, and Agrace hospice. Teresa was diagnosed with an advanced and incurable form of breast cancer in late summer 2024. The precious 18 months that Teresa’s family and friends were able to spend with her would not have been possible without the skilled care of her medical team. In that time, she was able to travel, spend time with her family, spoil her cats, help even more people, ride more miles on her bike, and fall in love with her daughter’s dog, Diesel, who is the size of six cats. She spent her final moments surrounded by family and in the tender hospice care at Agrace.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East
Funeral & Cremation Care
5203 Monona Drive
(608) 221-5420