Terri Royster trained for hours every week as a young dancer growing up in Columbia, cultivating dreams of one day performing professionally.

Later in life, she would achieve that dream at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. But Royster had many other achievements in her life — she became a model, a mother and, later in life, a paraeducator in Howard County schools, said her younger brother, George Hunter III.

Royster died on Nov. 25 from progressive frontotemporal aphasia, said Hunter, a brain disease that slowly caused her to lose her mobility, voice and personality. She was 62 years old.

Born on Oct. 27, 1963, to George Hunter, Jr. and Jerry Ann Hunter, Royster was raised in Howard County for most of her life. She was the middle child with two brothers, Joseph and George. Her family moved from Washington, D.C., to Hobbits Glen in 1971, becoming some of the area’s first residents.

Royster attended Harper’s Choice Middle School and then went on to Centennial High School. She was part of the first class to enter as freshmen and graduate from the school in 1981.

While in high school, Royster was taught dance by Anne Waugh Allan, a Howard County dance instructor known for her “force of nature” attitude in the studio, said Royster’s younger brother. His sister was obsessed with dance and her dance instructor, he said.

She would become one of the few who would make it to the professional dance world from the studio, where she learned both modern and classical ballet.

Royster was also a cheerleader and participated in student government alongside her best friends, Lisa Hayes and Regina Clay. Hayes has since died, but Clay, a current Howard County Council candidate, said their trio was inseparable.

“If you saw one, you saw the other,” she said. Clay said the three loved to socialize, “which is why we all connected.”

George Hunter, Royster’s younger brother, recalled her rebellious and spirited energy in her teenage years, one time taking an entire bag of chocolates and eating them all before he could get to them. She acted as any older sister would, he said.

When it came time for college, Royster, described as an artistic and talented person, splintered off from her friends to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. After she graduated, she joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Royster worked hard to make it as a performer, her brother said, sometimes juggling three jobs at a time to make ends meet. But it was worth the hustle because “she loved it,” Hunter said.

On top of her dance schedule, she would work shifts at retail stores, and she got into print modeling to make extra money. But after about five years of dancing, Royster injured herself and left the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Later on, she met Reginald Royster, a veterinarian whom she married. They had a son, also named Reginald. The couple moved to Philadelphia, where she enjoyed caring for animals while helping ramp up her husband’s practice. The couple divorced about a decade later.

Throughout her life, Hunter said, his sister loved animals and usually had a pet. She especially loved dogs, though Royster had some cats as well.

Royster later returned to Columbia and worked as a paraeducator in Howard County classrooms.

Her life slowed down after her diagnosis. Hunter said she went from “being an active person, a professional dancer,” to being bedridden from her disease.

Royster left behind a lot of friends and a “memorable” legacy, her brother said. “She lived out loud.”