Paul Lawrence Teare

Paul Lawrence Teare, originally from Cleveland, OH, passed from this life to be with
his eternal Father on January 19, 2018 after a brief hospitalization. Born July 1,
1927 to Daniel Lawrence Teare and Maude Buettner Teare of Maple Heights, OH, he
was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife of 39 years, Jean Bendslev
Coleman Teare of Wheeling, WV and by his brothers Charles and Ronald Teare of
Cleveland, OH. He is survived by his son Gregory Lawrence Teare and his wife Joan
of Carmel, Indiana; grandchildren Stephanie Teare Burke, Erin Teare Vitagliano (Chris)
and Ross Teare; as well as great-grandchildren Anthony Paul Vitagliano and Anna Ruth
Vitagliano; stepdaughters Connie Coleman Cowden (Ralph) , Catherine Ann Coleman,
and Christina Coleman Strickland (David) ; as well as step-grandchildren Carolyn
Cowden Keilman (Bryce), John Alexander Cowden (Sarah), and John Terrell Strickland.
Paul attended Maple Heights H.S. in Cleveland, OH and after graduation went
immediately into the US Navy pre-officer training program where he was assigned to
Denison University in Granville, OH. Upon completion of Navy Flight School, Paul
returned to Denison in 1948 where he joined the Navy Reserve, graduated from
college in 1949, married his first wife Dolores Hovance Fifer (deceased) in 1949 and
welcomed his only child Gregory into the world in 1954. While employed at Ohio Bell
Telephone, he attended and was a graduate of John Marshall Law School in Cleveland,
OH. He then worked at Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone in Wheeling, WV. He
served as commanding officer of the Naval Reserve in Wheeling. He met Jean in
Wheeling whom he married in 1976 in Naples, Italy during Navy Reserve training
exercises. He left the telephone company and later worked as a lawyer for the IRS
and was senior attorney for the WV Public Service Commission. Paul, Jean, and Jean’s
daughter Christina lived in Charleston, WV. While there he was recalled to Navy active
duty and served as Commander of the US Naval Forces Caribbean stationed in San
Juan, Puerto Rico. In addition to serving full time he continued and completed his
course work and graduated from the Naval War College. Jean and Paul lived for
several enjoyable years in Puerto Rico prior to their return to the States to Decatur,
GA where they were longtime members of Clairmont Presbyterian Church. Paul had
been a resident of the Oaks at Braselton assisted living since April of 2015 and most
recently of The Hope Center Assisted Living in Dacula, GA . A memorial will be
organized by family through Johnson-Romito Funeral Home at a later date as Paul’s
cremains will be interred at the family plot in Bedford, OH. Please remember Paul’s
favorite charities, the Navy War Memorial at http://www.navymemorial.org/ or
Dennison University at https://unlock.denison.edu/ in lieu of flowers.