John W. Teel

John W. Teel
December 22, 1940 to July 5, 2025

John passed away July 5, 2025 from heart failure at 84 years of age. He was born in Grants Pass, OR and lived in the nearby rural community of Williams with his father, Leo A. Teel and mother Nellie “Fay” Teel.

They moved several times when he was a young boy, living in California and Newport and Toledo, OR where his dad was a commercial fisherman. When he was 11 years old his father passed away and he, his mom and younger brother moved to southeast Portland where He finished his schooling, graduating from Benson High in 1960. At Benson he
was involved in several sports and was a member of the rally squad.

In 1963 he married Kathleen Rommel and they shared 62 years together. After spending two years in the Army, he came home and went to work for Portland Willamette Co., staying almost 30 years before health issues forced an early retirement.

He enjoyed bowling, fishing, RV camping and played, coached and umpired in the city league fast pitch softball. When he could no longer play sports, he began collecting rock & roll records and sheet music from the 1950’s starting with his own collection found in his mom’s basement. He shared his hobby together with new friends he met along the way. He was also a huge NY Yankees fan and had an extensive baseball card collection and autographed balls.

John was a man of few words, but he loved his family very much. He was honest, dependable and one of the hardest working people you could ever meet. He will be greatly missed and forever in our hearts. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Oren. He is survived by his wife Kathy, daughter Christine Lindstrom, son Eric Teel and wife Kristina and two grandsons, Cody and Brandon.

Full military honors service at Willamette National Cemetery August 8th at 1:00, reception to follow at Gresham Memorial Chapel, 257 SE Roberts, Gresham.