Teri Solochek Oral History

Following her oral history, Teri Solochek donated several items to the Museum relating to the assassination. The Museum's Teri Solochek Collection (2024.004) includes a certificate from Children's Woodland in Freedom Forest, located in Jerusalem, for the tree she planted in memory of President John F. Kennedy. She also donated the letter and envelope she received from Jacqueline Kennedy in response to her own condolence letter and five silver half-dollar coins she received with the letter from Mrs. Kennedy. Her thoughtful contribution to the Museum provides insight into how young children were impacted by the assassination not only in 1963 but throughout their lives. - Riley Harris, Collections Cataloger

Tragically, one year after this oral history was recorded, Ms. Solochek lost her home in the Palisades Fire in January 2025. The highly destructive wildfire, considered the third most destructive California wildfire on record, destroyed more than 6,800 structures and killed 12 people. In a letter to me two months later, she expressed how grateful she was that her donation was safely at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, fearing that the items would have almost certainly been lost in the fire if they were still in her possession. - Stephen Fagin, Curator