Was Teresa Rios aka Tere Rios who wrote 'The Fifteenth Pelican' upon which the 1960s TV series 'The Flying Nun' was based of Puerto Rican ancestry?

Answer 1

Rios' father was Puerto Rican (and seventh son of a seventh son) and her mother was an American of Irish descent. Maria Teresa Rios was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn in the early part of the twentieth century. She grew up in both the States and in Puerto Rico. She was fiercely proud of her Puerto Rican heritage. Rios Versace was a devout Catholic who became interested in writing at a young age. In the 1930s, she met and married Humbert Joseph Versace, a 1933 graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point). Together they had five children, Humbert Roque, twins Stephen and Richard Versace (former coach of the Indiana Pacers), Michael and Trilby. As an Army wife, she traveled to different places around the world, including Hawaii, where her first child, Humbert Roque was born. During World War II, Rios (now Rios Versace) drove Army trucks and buses. She also served as a pilot for the Civil Air Patrol. Rios Versace wrote and edited for various newspapers around the world, including places such as Guam, Germany,Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and publications such the Armed Forces Star & Stripes and Gannett. She also taught creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh and was on the staff of the Rhinelander Writers Conference. In 1958, she was named "Wisconsin Writer of the Year". In 1963, Rios Versace published her first book Brother Angel using the pen name "Tere Rios". She soon followed that with another book, An Angel Grows Up.