Thomas Teel

Thomas “Wayne” Teel was born on May 31, 1929 to Callie and Robert “Ernest” Teel in Waco, Texas. Wayne died peacefully on August 15, 2020, in hospice in Loveland, Colorado, after complications from surgery.

Wayne grew up in the Waco area and graduated from Waco High School in 1946, where he was active in baseball, English Literary Society and National Honor Society. He attended college at both Baylor University and Rice University, studying mechanical engineering. He was very active in the campus theater programs and played baseball. Wayne broke his ankle sliding into a base which ended his baseball aspirations since it never healed properly. Wayne left college before graduating to care for his mom who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Wayne followed in his father’s footsteps and went into the motor freight industry. He worked for Best Motor Lines, living in both Indianapolis and Cleveland. He returned to Texas in his late 20s, where he met his future wife, Natalie Smith, on a blind date in Waco. They were married in November 1959, after a brief courtship and settled in San Antonio, TX, where daughters Sharon and Elissa were born. Wayne worked for Merchants Fast Motor Lines in San Antonio. The family moved to Denver in 1966 to be closer to Natalie’s family, when Wayne began working for Consolidated Freightways in sales. During his time with CF, he was very involved with the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association, where he made many friends. In later years, he was terminal manager for Merchants in Denver. He and Natalie built their dream home from scratch on 5 acres in Parker, CO in 1973 where he and Natalie lived for the next 45 years. After Natalie passed away in 2019, he moved to Fort Collins to be closer to Elissa and her family.

Wayne was very involved in his community with various civic endeavors. He was a member of the Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee for more than 50 years and enjoyed building floats and attending the Parade each year. He was a member and former director of the Rocky Mountain Goats Foundation since 2003, providing scholarships to students studying wildlife management and conservation. Wayne was also a member at both the Parker and Castle Rock Senior Centers, at first driving seniors (who were often younger than him) and ran their car donation programs for years.

Wayne was always doing something, whether it be attending events or simply MacGyvering things at his home. Some of Wayne’s favorite activities included golf, bird hunting (especially pheasant in Western Nebraska, mourning doves, and quail), and watching sports, particularly baseball. He co-authored a game cookbook ‘High Country Cooking’ and loved to tell stories. After he moved to Fort Collins, he wrote two short stories on his typewriter and had plans to write a book on the history of trucking. He and Natalie were long-time season ticket holders to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and loved live theater. Wayne enjoyed Country and Western music, and old Western movies. He loved playing games, particularly bridge.

Wayne loved being a father, and later a grandfather. He was very gregarious, and had a large circle of friends of whom he was very fond. Wayne also loved dogs; much of his life he had a dog at his side (he named each Echo) and enjoyed taking them hunting.

Wayne is survived by his daughters Sharon Wynde (David) of Portland, OR, and Elissa Teel-Duggan (Jerry Duggan) Fort Collins; by his grandchildren Kendall Street (Mike) of Portland, Sophie Wynde of Oxford, England, Aidan Duggan and Juniper Duggan, both of Fort Colllins.

Wayne lived a long beautiful life for his 91 years. He lived life with gusto and love, and had no regrets. Wayne was laid to rest on August 21, 2020 with a small family gathering. A Celebration of Life will be held at Horan & McConaty, 11150 E. Dartmouth Ave., Aurora, CO in 2021, date to be determined (hopefully around St. Patrick’s Day, 2021, if Covid-19 allows).

In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for donations to a scholarship in Wayne’s name at Colorado State University, Warner College of Natural Resources.

Checks may be made out to "CSUF" (CSU Foundation) in care of T. Wayne Teel Scholarship.

They can be mailed to: CSU Foundation P.O. Box 1870, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1870. Or, donations may be made online to https://advancing.colostate.edu/WCNRSTUDENTSUCCESSSCHOLARSHIP