Sue Teel

SUE NEWCOMER TEEL

Sue Newcomer Teel passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 7th at Kingswood Health Center.  Sue was born on October 1, 1927, the daughter of Earl T. and Gertrude Newcomer.  She held undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Sorbonne in Paris, the University of Kansas (Phi Beta Kappa), UMKC (Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society), and Avila College.  She was an honorary alumna of the Barstow School (Cum Laude), where she taught for more than 20 years, and where she became a nominee for the Greater Kansas City Excellence in Teaching Award.  Sue dedicated her adult life to helping children develop and healthy sense of self-worth, integrity, and respect for the rights of all people.  She wrote and published a curriculum that taught critical life skills to students such as empathy, responsibility, caring, self-discipline, and goal-setting.  Known as “Project Essential,” the program touched the lives of tens of thousands of children, teachers, parents, and youth-serving professionals.  She also immeasurably enriched the lives of her own children and grandchildren:  Leslie Teel Dunn and husband tom (Kansas City); Robert Lee Teel II (Vancouver, BC); Robert Lee Teel III (San Diego); and Charles Alexander Teel (Eugene, Oregon).  She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Lee Teel. She leaves to all who knew her the legacy of a desire to improve the world, one person at a time, and to leave the world a better place.  Sincere thanks to all the staff at Kingswood Senior Living and Ascend Hospice for their loving and professional care.  Private services; memorial contributions may be made to The Barstow School.