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My Uncle Don

June 30, 2020
Don was my mother’s brother, as was Uncle Dick.  My mother was Doris Eleanor Teal Rook,who married Joe Rook a golf pro from Buffalo New York.  I have many fond memories of Thanksgivings spent with my maternal grandfather, Clyde G. Teal, Uncle Dick and Aunt Lou, Uncle Dick and Aunt Phyllis and a large extended family at my grandfather’s house in Buffalo during the 1950’s and early 60’s.  There were many kids running around and Grandpa would settle in his chair in the living room, turn off his hearing aids and read his paper, oblivious to the chaos surrounding him.  I moved away from Buffalo in 1962 to join the Army and lost touch with the family as my mother relocated from Buffalo in the 70’s

Together again

January 27, 2016

Dad,

Well, by now you know that Mom has joined you - she missed you so much and longed to be with you. So, now you're both together and happy. I miss you both dearly.

Love,

Dave

Life Lessons

January 27, 2013

You were the smartest person I have ever known.  You were ahead of your time in so many ways.  I remember you insisting that front and back seat belts be installed in our car even though they were not required in the 1950's . This was for the safety of our family.  Some people thought you were crazy- they were certainly wrong! 

You installed several fire extinguishers in the house and this saved our home from being burned to the ground following a tornadic storm and lightning strike.  Our attic was on fire and phone service was out.  You put out the fire.   You were always our hero and still are.  Guess who has fire extinguishers in the house now?


    

Missing you

January 27, 2013

I have certainly have missed you over the past two years. You are in God's care now. I will hold on to all the memories and thankful that I was your wife for many years.

Love You , Lu

P.S. You will be happy to know that the spooky tree fell down during a wind storm. Now you do not need to worry that it will fall on someone.

Don's birthday July 3rd

July 5, 2012

He was 89 yrs. old. I miss him every day. At 4:45 a.m. that day when I looked out the window at the break of dawn there was a white tail deer sleeping in the back yard. This had never happened before. I dislike the deer, because they eat all the flowers. I think Don was telling me not to be so angry with the deer and they are part of God's world and I should be more tolerant of them. Being angry only hurts me. I will still spray the flowers though. I am wondering if this was the same deer I saw a week ago walking down the street with a little one ? ? ?

I will always love you,

Lu

Missing you...

May 16, 2012

It is over a year now that Don has been in his home of Peace. He would have loved this spring season. The dogwood trees put on a big show as did the azaleas and other flowering plants. The roses that the family planted for him last June are in full bloom right now and are beautiful. I have fond reminders of him each day. Today on my way into town at the field where we often saw the cattle grazing, there had to be a hundred or more there. They were dogs or birds to him and that was O.K. it was a joy for him to see them. At this time of year, I only have to look around the yard to remember Don. Is he planting a flower somewhere or may be a tomato plant? I am sure he is.

Love you,

Lu

Dedication - June 2011

January 26, 2012

On the weekend of June 4th 2011, Denise, Dave, Jan, Brianne, and Laura all travelled to Tennesse for a family get together and dedication of Don's lfe. We had a nice ceremony in the back yard, with Denise providing the script that we all read. Lu bought the heart shaped flower pot/stand and we took a bunch of pictures - see the gallery for those (toward the end).

As we approach the anniversary of Don's death, we miss him even more.

What a Neighbor!

June 18, 2011

We have many good and pleasant memories of Don and Lu. They were our neighbors in Sylvania for about ten years. They were easy neighbors, easy to be with. We would sometimes talk together on our back porch. It was there that Don talked about the retirement package which his corporation was offering him. He took it and ran...all the way to Tennessee...with Lu with him of course. Their moving was a loss for us, and now Don's death is even a greater loss.

Our daughter, Elizabeth, has some very fond memories of both Don and Lu. She said recently, "Don was always so gentle with me. He took time with me. He taught me how to root plants. He told stories about his kids whom he loved deeply. Both Don and Lu took a great interest in me which helped shap my life.They listened to my talk and babble. They helped me to think things through. They were big open-hearted people."

Don and Lu were some of the nicest and best neighbors we ever had. It was such a privilege to be their neighbors.

Sam and Betty Jean Souers

 

Memories of Dad

April 30, 2011

My earliest memories of Dad were at Christmas time.  Every Christmas morning Dave and I would run to the living room to see the mountain of presents that Santa had left.  Dad spent most of the day assembling all the gifts we received.  Dave believed in Santa until he was almost 10 years old and then Susie Porter ruined it by telling him that there was no Santa.

Dad was a great mentor in so many ways - he taught us how to garden with the huge vegetable, fruit and flower gardens.  Every year he would clear out a space for me and would take me to the feed store to pick out packets of flower seeds and then help me plant them.  In a few short months, I had the most beautiful flower garden in the neighborhood.  He grew orchids in his hand made greenhouse and I have continued that love at my own home.  Dad was an engineer and as such he was always building things for us.  He built a tree house with a ladder and trap door.  There were many spy missions that took place here.  Dad built the swimming pool in our back yard and this was the source of many parties with friend and neighbors.  He was great at playing the shark - scaring us all the time.  Dad built a fort for Dave and his friends with a trap door to enter.  Many battles against the Indians and bad guys took place here.

Vacations with his family were always so important to Dad.  Every year we would travel to the Island in Canada where Grandpa Teal stayed in the summer.  Dad and Grandpa built the cabin and outhouse on a very remote island in the Georgian Bay - 10,000 Islands. Fishing, snake hunting, blueberry picking and spider killing were some of the main activities on the Island. We loved it.  Then the drive to Dollar Bay to see Grandma Nordbeck.  This was also a great adventure.  The spooky attic, the drunk, mummy-like neighbors that frightened Dave and I.  And finally, off to Florida we would go.  Dad was always so skinny and with his white legs, he looked more like a skeleton.  He would often take off on a raft and swim out hundreds of feet into the Gulf. The hotel staff became so concerned because sharks were in the area.  He didn’t care, this was a great adventure. He ignored all of us screaming, waving and jumping from the beach. 

As I grew older and became a businesswoman, Dad helped me and advised me on how to deal with personnel and business problems. But most of all he advised me on how to deal with the discrimination issues that I was facing as the only female manager in a large company of men. As a result of the challenges that I faced, he was the champion of female chemical engineers at DuPont. 

Later years brought vacations together.  We traveled to Alaska, and most of the Western States and Canada.  Trips to Hawaii and Yellowstone.  Yearly visits to the Isle of Palms, an ocean front community near Charleston, South Carolina, were always his favorite.  Renting big homes near the ocean and Intercoastal and watching the birds, deer and other wildlife were favorite pastimes.

When I think of Dad- he was the best father that anyone could ask for; he was always a loving husband to Mom, his sole purpose in his life was his family and you could see this in every thing he did.  He was my hero, my mentor, my Dad.  I always loved you, Dad.

Respectfully submitted, Denise L. Teal

A few memories and short stories

April 30, 2011

Don and I met and dated in a small town in Northern Michigan, called Dollar Bay. Winters were freezing cold with lots of snow. Don would kneel to help me put on my boots. My Mother had never seen a man help a lady with her boots and she said to me: "you should not let that man get away from you"…and I never did. We were together for sixty and a half years and he was always the Gentleman.

When Don became ill, he decided that he would not drive the car any more. Actually he never stopped driving. He would tell me: I was going too fast or going too slow. He could spot the stop lights from a mile away, and he would tell me how many cars were in back of me or in front of me. He’d tell me that I should not let any one pass me, but I should be passing every one in front of us. So he was very happy driving the car from the passenger seat.

Don had a good sense of humor too. Some years ago when he was moaning and groaning about what had to be done that day, I said if he was looking for sympathy, he should look in the dictionary. Well, he never let me forget that, so when I moaned and groaned about something, he would say: "start looking for the dictionary"...

Don loved to garden. He would plant many vegetables, but he grew the best tomatoes. He loved tomatoes and he could hardly wait for them to get big enough to pick.

I had a very happy life with Don. He loved me and his family and was always kind and caring to us. To love and be loved - what more could one ask for in this life???

Thoughts

April 20, 2011

What can someone say about their father after his is gone? No words can come close to summing up a person's life or how you feel about them. Thoughts about what I should/could have done differently while he was still with us. No chance to say final goodbye's. It just hurts. But this isn't about me, it's about my Dad. He was simply "the best" and I will miss him dearly.

To my husband Don,

April 11, 2011
From the first time we met we both had that sparkle in our eyes. So we knew that it was more than a casual meeting. That meeting lasted for sixty and a half years. You have shown me what love is and what it feels like to be loved. You were the one I turned to when I needed comfort, a hug, or a kiss at the end of the day. You were the love of my life and I will miss you.
 
Love always,  Lu

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