Stella Marie Teeple, née Gallo, of Conway, South Carolina, passed away peacefully in her sleep January 18, 2022. She was 96 years old.
Stella was born April 20, 1925 in Tuckahoe, New York to Angelo and Carmella Gallo, who were both born in Italy. She had a brother, Angelo, who predeceased her. She grew up in the suburbs of New York City during the Great Depression, but with her parents working, and the help of her grandfather, Vincenzo Santoro, who lived with them, she escaped the worst of it. In her late teens she would travel by train into the city with her best friend Nan to go see Broadway shows and visit the markets.
She met her husband-to-be, Landis Eugene Teeple, while he was in New York City as part of his U.S. Naval deployment in the early 40’s. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war by the United States against Japan and Germany saw Landis leave U.S. soil and travel abroad as part of the Armed Guard, an often perilous job serving on merchant ships with little defensive armament.
Landis made it back and couldn’t wait to marry Stella. In July of 1947, the first of their three children was born, David, who survives today and lives in Conway, South Carolina. He has one child, Wendi Teeple, who lives nearby in Myrtle Beach. Three years later in September, 1950, the second son, Paul, was born. Paul predeceased his mother by several years. In April of 1961, while living in Pawling, New York, a third and final son was born, Robert, who also lives in Conway, South Carolina.
Stella lived well over 20 years in Pawling, and worked at various jobs including the Village Pharmacy as their bookkeeper, and the National Bank in Pawling as a teller. She volunteered at the local library, and with other civic organizations, and spent many hours transporting her children to their various scouting and school-related sports activities.
Upon her and her husband’s retirement, they moved from Pawling, New York to Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania to be closer to their third son, his wife and their two children. After several years, an opportunity arose for them to move to Topsail Island, North Carolina, into their first son’s newly acquired vacation home near the ocean. The property bordered the Intracoastal Waterway, so the couple, along with their children, when able, would often be found on the family boat, going out to sightsee, or fish, or clamming. After a number of years living on the island, they once again moved, this time to Conway, South Carolina, where David and his wife Janet had established a home and a business. While Landis passed away shortly after the move, Stella lived in Conway for twenty years.
Stella had a number of passions in her life aside from her husband and children. She was a voracious reader of novels, and kept the local library busy as well as her niece Linda and granddaughter Wendi, who often supplied her with reading material. Even her son Robert chipped in, giving her his first copy of a book of short stories that he penned. Stella was also a lifetime New York Yankees fan to the point that she had satellite dishes installed wherever she lived so that she could subscribe to the MLB Extra Innings plan, ensuring that she could enjoy over 100 games each year. Having a husband and three sons also turned her into a football fan on Sunday afternoons, and she would watch games every weekend into her early 90s.
Other passions of her were knitting, and crochet, and of course cooking, being of Italian descent. Holidays were a wonderful gathering, with specialized food traditions that stretched back many decades. One other passion was her love of dogs, specifically the boxer breed. While she had dogs stretching all the way back from the 1950s, it was one dog that took hold of her heart while she was living in Topsail Beach, and then Conway. That was Ginger, who would race along the beach and chase birds and stick her face in the sand, rising up and looking foolish with a cocked head that only a boxer can pull off.
Stella asked that no donations be made, nor flowers sent, rather, she asked that those who wished to remember her to do so with a smile and a fond memory of her.
