Terri Hadley grew up in a little town called Oxford, PA, which is situated about 50 miles north of Baltimore and 50 miles south of Philadelphia. This equal and close proximity to large metropolitan hubs provided Terri with an idyllic childhood, since she had all the benefits of exposure to what big cities have to offer, while still experiencing small town life.
“I was the youngest of six girls,” says Hadley, “So I was spoiled to death! I grew up in a family where church was the center of our universe. It was a neat childhood. I loved music, and started playing piano when I was five years old. I also learned to play the clarinet and accordion. When I wasn’t involved in music, I really enjoyed writing poetry. To this day I love everything from Southern Gospel music to jazz – and if I really need to mellow out – there’s nothing like classical music!”
Terri originally wanted to be a pediatrician but her life went in another direction. “I was married very young and had three boys while I was still growing up myself, so we kind of grew up together. After going through a divorce, I met my current husband just as he was getting ready to graduate from the State Police School in Delaware. He graduated on a Friday night and we got married the next day, so I was a State Policeman’s wife for 20 years. I was always very proud of him. He was Trooper of the Year a couple of times. Our lives were fun in some instances, but it was also scary because you never know when they walk out the door what’s going to happen.”
A few years into the marriage Terri decided she wanted to become a cosmetologist. Once she had accomplished that goal, she went on to get her teachers license in cosmetology, eventually opening three different beauty salons. “During the time I was teaching,” she says, “I was recruited by an international company that had department store salons. I started out as a manager, then became a senior manager – and finally I was made a district director, which meant I had 21 stores to oversee. That’s what I was doing when I was diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Terri was diagnosed in October of 1995, and although she had a sister who had the disease 15 years earlier, another sister who had melanoma, and several other cases of cancer in her family, she had never really worried about it. “I did my mammograms every year, so I was paying attention, but it still came as a shock, because you think it will never happen to you.”
An unpleasant encounter during Terri’s search for personal items relating to her surgeries put her on a very different career path. “My surgeon told me I needed to purchase a few products, so I went to the only place I knew about to obtain them. There was a man behind the counter, which would have been just fine if he had been compassionate or empathetic. He wasn’t. He pointed across the room to a closet. After standing in the closet crying, I had one of those moments where I just knew there had to be something better! I began searching, and my search led me to a lady at Penney’s who told me about a little mastectomy boutique across from the hospital. The woman who owned it had passed away and her daughters were trying to sell it.”
She continues, “I knew I wanted to move the boutique into a medical center, but my husband kept telling me I couldn’t afford it. We found a surgeon’s office who had retired. After dickering back and forth I was finally able to obtain a lease for about $500 a month, so we moved into a medical center and added lots of products. After I’d been in business about seven or eight months the surgeon came to see what we’d done with his former office. When he saw the previous owner’s pictures on the wall, he asked how I knew her. Then he told me he’d been her surgeon and this was the office where she was diagnosed. At that moment, I knew I was on the right track!”
Terri’s business eventually grew to four boutiques, which she sold when her husband retired and they moved to Delaware. A niece with whom she had been particularly close, Deborah Lynn Baker, had been diagnosed with a rare uterine cancer. She kept telling Terri that she needed to open another mastectomy boutique because that was the work she was meant to do. Terri remembers, “On the way home from Debbie’s funeral we passed a little strip mall close to where we lived, on Route 13, and there was a great big for rent sign. My husband and I went through the same conversation about the rent being too high – but eventually we both knew it was the right thing to do.”
“The Pink Ribbon Boutique is dedicated to my niece. The work is very therapeutic for me. I feel like this is why I had breast cancer – so I can be in the fitting room and mentor to help women who are going through it. I see a common denominator when it comes to my clients. They are courageous. They find an inner strength they didn’t know they had. Almost everyone finds some way to give back after they’ve been through breast cancer. I think that is a true testament to a woman’s power and character.”
The Pink Ribbon Boutique carries forms, bras, swimwear, compression sleeves, European lingerie, hats, turbans, wigs and homemade blankets, as well as an assortment of other retail items.
Terri is very enthusiastic about her Amoena Rep, Denise Hughes, and says, “She has worked so closely with me on all of our promotions. Denise has always believed in me, which really helps. I can always count on her smiling face and happy attitude. I’m so glad to be working with her again!”
It doesn’t appear that Terri will be retiring anytime soon, and that’s just fine with her! “I have four grown children who have blessed me with 12 grandchildren and 4 great grandkids, so my life when I’m not working is also very full. I love getting together for family dinners and going to the various kids’ sporting events. My husband just bought a new set of golf clubs, so when I have the opportunity, we love playing golf. I think my life is good now. When I had four stores that were so far apart, it was much more difficult. I’m closer now, which makes a world of difference.”
And you can bet that Terri Hadley makes a world of difference in the women’s lives she touches.