Brendan J. Teeling ’59 died on April 16, 2021 in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
(The following was published by Ipswich Local News on April 18, 2021)
Dr. Brendan James Teeling, age 83 of Ipswich, beloved husband, father, and Papa, passed peacefully April 16, 2021, at home following his brave battle with cancer.
Brendan was born in Salem on May 19, 1937, and lived his entire life on the North Shore.
For nearly thirty years he served the community as its trusted eye doctor from his practice on Cabot Street in Beverly.
For his many patients, he was always ready with sound medical advice, a silly joke or two, and lollipops for the kids.
Dr. Teeling was a proud graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine, Class of 1959, where he joined Psi Upsilon and remained an active alumnus well into his 80s.
In college he was a star baseball player who became Maine All-State batting champion, later declining a chance to try out for his beloved Boston Red Sox to instead pursue his passion for medicine.
In 1963, he completed his M.D. at Tufts University School of Medicine before opening his Beverly practice in 1967.
Dr. Teeling served as a medic in the Army Reserves during Vietnam and was an active member of the Beverly Rotary Club in the 1980s.
He was an avid sailor who skippered many a voyage out of Salem Harbor, Marblehead, and later Annisquam in Gloucester.
Dr. Teeling loved nature and working outdoors, whether it was clearing a path through the woods, building a horse paddock, or tending his vegetable garden.
He proudly never paid for snowplow services in his life, preferring instead to hop in his tractor and clear his own way.
In retirement the good doctor took up oil painting, delighting friends and family with his canvases depicting New England seaside and country landscapes. He hated beavers.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret “Peggy” (Densmore) Teeling, and five children: Lauren Teeling Adams and her husband, Ambassador Donald Heflin, of New Delhi, India; Dr. Leslie M. Adams of Lee, NH; Michael B. Teeling and his wife, Amy, of Oakland, CA; Jay C. Heath and his wife, Cathleen, of Okemos, MI; and Kristina P. Heath of Hamilton and her fiancé Dwight Moore.
He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Alexis Adams of Ipswich, Gwendolyn and Aidan Teeling, both of Oakland, CA, Lydia Adams of Lee, NH, Kiera Peavey of Hamilton, and Emma and Benjamin Heath, both of Okemos, MI; as well as his mournful dog Mookie.
In addition to his parents, Thomas W. Teeling and Rose M. (Bushman) Teeling, both formerly of Salem, he was predeceased by his second wife, Kathleen Hanley of Gloucester; his brother, Thomas W. Teeling, Jr., of Beverly; and his beloved pooch Boomer.