Donald Teter Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Donald Earl Teter, 87, passed peacefully into his heavenly home on Dec. 26. He was born July 1, 1928 in Bartley, Nebraska, the oldest son of Irene Mayo Teter and Otis Earl Teter. Don grew up in a one-room farmhouse in Nebraska working hard and playing hard with his two sisters and brother. Games included any sport with a ball, plus bicycle races and mule/plow races which sister Elma usually won. Don survived a critical head injury as a child after a bike-race mishap. During his lengthy hospital stay in Lincoln, the University of Nebraska football coach visited him and presented a football signed by the entire team -- great medicine! Don was the valedictorian of his high-school graduation class, quarterback of the football team and married his high-school sweetheart, Goldene Greenlee. He studied engineering in college, but working in the ladies' shoe department at JC Penney ignited his passion for "selling" which led to a successful management career there and ultimately brought him to Dallas. After retiring from JC Penney, Don launched his own women's clothing business, Direct Fashions, and later a well-respected construction/remodeling business. Hundreds of homes throughout North Texas have a Teter Construction improvement! Growing up on a rural farm during the Depression taught Don all kinds of important life lessons, including the value of hard work, family and making do with what you have. What Don didn't learn in school or on the farm, he taught himself. Like how to move a small house in Amarillo across town and then remodel it to accommodate his growing family. Or how he rebuilt the family's first home in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas and later built a new 4,000-square-foot house there. Nicknamed "The Bear" by his children for his habit of standing next to a door frame and scratching his back, Don's favorite pastimes were watching his sons Fred, Eric, Richard and Kevin play football, baseball and basketball at Lake Highlands and daughter Shelley a Lake Highlands cheerleader. In his later years, he enjoyed playing cribbage with his children and grandchildren, cheering on the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys and playing with his dog Chipper. Don loved people - he could walk into a restaurant wearing his Nebraska Cornhusker cap and always run into someone he knew -- or make another new friend. "The Bear" was just that friendly and outgoing. Don especially loved the Lord. His deep faith came a bit later in life, but he was a true believer in God's saving grace. Don was preceded in death by his beloved parents, sisters Elma Phillips and Pauline Phillips (sisters who married brothers), daughter Roxanne and son Fred. Don is survived by his loving wife Elizabeth Rackley; sons Eric (Molly), Richard and Kevin (Denise); daughter Shelley Quatruopolo; eight grandchildren (Derek and Leo Scarbrough; Logan Teter; Tara Dankberg; Jenna Teter; Victoria, Julia and Olivia Teter); four great grandchildren (William and Vivienne Scarbrough; Natalie and Gabby Dankberg); daughter-in-law Annette Teter; and brother John. His memorial service will be at a later date in Nebraska. Feel free to remember him by making a donation to your church. Rest in peace, Don.