Obituary for Paul Anthony Teel
Paul Anthony Teel
March 10, 1928 - August 11, 2020
Born into Depression-era poverty, Paul spent the majority of his formative years in Parmadale Children's Village, an orphanage outside Cleveland, Ohio. At twelve he was reunited with his mother and siblings in Georgetown, SC. His youth instilled self-reliance and independence which stayed with him throughout his life.
When he was twenty-two he joined the army where he served honorably from 1950 to 1952. His service pay became his tuition at Georgia Tech. When funds ran out he transferred to University of South Carolina where he met Ronda Roslyn Sawyer, a reference librarian at McKissick Library. He told her he was going to marry her, but noticing the crucifix around his neck she told him she couldn't marry a Catholic. He responded he could take it off as he just wore it to please his mother. He received his Physics degree on June 1, 1956, and on June 23, after a whirlwind courtship, they married and drove to California. Over the course of the next six years Tina, Paul Jr and John rebounded out their family.
His career took him from Edward's Airforce Base working with test pilots and experimental aircraft to Cape Canaveral and the race to put a man on the moon where he worked on the Mercury missions. One of his most vivid memories was climbing the tall tower on Eleuthra, Bahamas to work on the Eastern Range communications network that supported missile and rocket launches for the US Air Force during the early sixties. Ultimately he returned to Cleveland joining the incandescent lamp engineering team at GE's Nela Park.
Not California, not Florida, but Ohio became home. In the summer of 1972 he formed Techtron Systems (TSI) and established the manufacturing center in his garage. Winter 1972, TSI moved manufacturing to his basement where it stayed for ten years before gaining its own address and blossoming into a successful business which is still in operation and run by Paul Jr. Upon retiring in 1994 Paul and Ronda moved to Santee, SC.
After Ronda passed in 1997 Paul travelled frequently to Viet Nam, remarried (subsequently annulled) and moved to Dallas. There he remained until 2017 when his daughter brought him to live near her in Greenville, SC.
On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, Paul died peacefully.
He is survived by his sons, Paul Anthony Teel Jr (Pamela), John Gabriel Teel, Tony Cooper; daughter Tina Teel Sudlow (Donald); and grandchildren Alice Teel Sudlow, W. Thomas Sudlow, Paul A. Teel III, Gabriel B. Teel, Drew Saum and Shane Saum.
He was preceded in death by his wife Ronda Sawyer Teel; his siblings James Elbert Teel, William John Teel and Mary Elizabeth Teel; and his parents George Farren Teel and Ferol Margaret Peal Teel.
A small graveside service is planned for a later date.
March 10, 1928 - August 11, 2020
Born into Depression-era poverty, Paul spent the majority of his formative years in Parmadale Children's Village, an orphanage outside Cleveland, Ohio. At twelve he was reunited with his mother and siblings in Georgetown, SC. His youth instilled self-reliance and independence which stayed with him throughout his life.
When he was twenty-two he joined the army where he served honorably from 1950 to 1952. His service pay became his tuition at Georgia Tech. When funds ran out he transferred to University of South Carolina where he met Ronda Roslyn Sawyer, a reference librarian at McKissick Library. He told her he was going to marry her, but noticing the crucifix around his neck she told him she couldn't marry a Catholic. He responded he could take it off as he just wore it to please his mother. He received his Physics degree on June 1, 1956, and on June 23, after a whirlwind courtship, they married and drove to California. Over the course of the next six years Tina, Paul Jr and John rebounded out their family.
His career took him from Edward's Airforce Base working with test pilots and experimental aircraft to Cape Canaveral and the race to put a man on the moon where he worked on the Mercury missions. One of his most vivid memories was climbing the tall tower on Eleuthra, Bahamas to work on the Eastern Range communications network that supported missile and rocket launches for the US Air Force during the early sixties. Ultimately he returned to Cleveland joining the incandescent lamp engineering team at GE's Nela Park.
Not California, not Florida, but Ohio became home. In the summer of 1972 he formed Techtron Systems (TSI) and established the manufacturing center in his garage. Winter 1972, TSI moved manufacturing to his basement where it stayed for ten years before gaining its own address and blossoming into a successful business which is still in operation and run by Paul Jr. Upon retiring in 1994 Paul and Ronda moved to Santee, SC.
After Ronda passed in 1997 Paul travelled frequently to Viet Nam, remarried (subsequently annulled) and moved to Dallas. There he remained until 2017 when his daughter brought him to live near her in Greenville, SC.
On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, Paul died peacefully.
He is survived by his sons, Paul Anthony Teel Jr (Pamela), John Gabriel Teel, Tony Cooper; daughter Tina Teel Sudlow (Donald); and grandchildren Alice Teel Sudlow, W. Thomas Sudlow, Paul A. Teel III, Gabriel B. Teel, Drew Saum and Shane Saum.
He was preceded in death by his wife Ronda Sawyer Teel; his siblings James Elbert Teel, William John Teel and Mary Elizabeth Teel; and his parents George Farren Teel and Ferol Margaret Peal Teel.
A small graveside service is planned for a later date.