Harry Teasley

TEASLEY, Jr., Harry

Harry Eugene Teasley, Jr., 86, died on October 9, 2023, in Magliaso, Switzerland. Born March 3, 1937 at home in Hartwell, GA, to Nancy Massey Teasley and Dr. Harry Eugene Teasley, he was delivered by his father and his grandfather, both physicians. In 1948, Harry moved with his widowed mother and young sister to Orlando, FL, graduating from Boone High School in 1955, then matriculating at Georgia Tech, where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and an ROTC cadet. He earned his B.S. in Industrial Engineering in 1959.

While at Tech, Harry met Linda Grant, a beautiful, literary student at nearby women's school Agnes Scott College. The first time Linda saw Harry, he was playing ping-pong at the Sigma Chi House and she wondered what it would be like to be married to someone that intense. She found out as they married in 1960, starting a family and a life together. They raised children, worked, and continued studying (he, the Advanced Management Program at Harvard; she, an M.A. from GA State, and a Ph.D. from Emory), side-by-side, until her death in 2008.

Following a brief stint at a paper company in Atlanta, while also serving as a First Lieutenant in the Army Reserve, in 1962, Harry began what turned out to be a career-long affiliation, joining The Coca-Cola Company as a young engineer. In 1969, at the beginning of the "ecology" movement, while analyzing Coke's packaging, Harry pioneered the first Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) ever to be used in an industrial context. LCA was a groundbreaking analytical framework assessing environmental impacts of a product's life from "cradle to grave," and is used across most major industries today, not only to assess environmental impacts of packaging, but all kinds of goods, technologies, and services.

By 1972, Harry was a Vice President of Coca-Cola USA, and by 1975, a Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company. His technical background, along with his financial, management, leadership and communication skills, were tapped by Coke over and over again, to serve in both well-established and nascent Coke entities: as President and CEO of The Wine Spectrum; as Managing Director of the English Bottling Operations of The Coca-Cola Company; as President and CEO of Coca-Cola Foods, and as President and CEO of Coca-Cola Nestle Refreshment Company.

Harry was a penetrating and analytical thinker, a straight shooter, bold, unafraid, and decisive. He had no tolerance for mushy thinking or deflection, and could quickly get to the heart of most situations within a couple of increasingly narrow questions. The wise were prepared before they sat down with him. At Coke he was nicknamed "Thor" because of his focus, intensity and warrior-like demeanor; this nickname did not displease Harry. Harry could occasionally be a source of consternation for his bosses, as he did not enjoy playing murky corporate political games. A top executive at Coke said, "Harry was difficult to manage, but everyone who worked for him would follow him anywhere in the world to work for him again." Above all Harry was a mentor and sherpa to his employees and family. He coached the necessity of, among other topics, "capturing" concepts in writing, insisting that if you could not explain something clearly in the written word, you didn't really understand what you were thinking. His own voluminous writings remain - from how to maintain a checking account (sent to all his children numerous times; there are multiple extant copies!) - to expansive treatises on corporate practice, risk assessment, and public policy. He wrote analyses on everything that interested him, including, for example, a lengthy letter of appreciation, feedback and critique to a judge following a civil trial where he served as a juror. If you had any conversation with him for any length of time, you likely received a follow-up letter or email with additional thoughts, insights, or suggestions for further reading. He kept conversations going.

After retiring in 1995, Harry turned himself fully to the deep study of and engagement in what had become his primary intellectual interest: libertarian ideas about markets, economics, public choice, and in fact, nearly all human engagements. As with all other things, he approached these concepts with intensity, analytical rigor, enjoyment of colloquy, desire to teach and guide, and force of personality. At the core of his classical liberal belief system was his tremendous respect for, and optimism about, the strength and dignity of individuals and their right to pursue their own dreams.

Harry frequently delivered presentations to high school and university classes, civic organizations, municipalities, and think tanks on management, markets, and public policy. He generously supported organizations promoting free markets and free minds. He gave to numerous educational institutions. Amongst other gifts, Harry and Linda endowed the Harry and Linda Teasley Chair in the School of Biological Sciences at GA Tech, to conduct research into how organisms interact with each other and their environment.

As a young man, Harry was competitive on both tennis and volleyball courts, and later, became an expert fly-fisherman, an adult refinement of freshwater fishing skills he learned in Orlando from his grandfather. He meticulously organized lures and tackle in joyful but serious preparation for "catch and release" salmon-fishing trips where he, his son, and his grandsons stood quietly in cold, remote rivers all over the world. Harry and Linda also shared a love of plants, gardens, trees, and architecture, interests they nurtured in their daughters. He project-managed the restoration of the Stovall-Lee House and its gardens in Tampa (now a private club, The Stovall House), a multi-decade stewardship borne of his admiration of historic architecture preservation and his meticulous engineer's commitment to excellent craftsmanship. Harry and Linda made the Stovall-Lee House, as well as a house in Sea Island, GA, their homes for nearly 30 years.

Well into his 80s Harry made a daily list of what he both wanted and needed to accomplish, then marched methodically through the list. He believed life was too short to drink bad wine, eat bad food, be idle, or let the day pass without improving or straightening out something, someone, some organization, or some idea. His lifelong habit of daily industrious activity was sadly circumscribed by the pandemic. During those more isolated days, he remained (until his final year), an eager correspondent, an interlocutor with precise memory for people and events, and a zealous advocate for his points of view about policy. Depending on one's own views, a few hours at a restaurant with him could feel like either mere minutes, or, sometimes, days. A practical man of action, he loved discussing more cerebral matters, and never stopped learning, framing knowledge, guiding others, expounding and writing. An example is a quite serious conversation he had with his then 4 year-old granddaughter wherein he taught her the word "epistemology," prompting her to think about how one acquires knowledge: "How do you know what you know?" His mind was always his most prized asset, and he encouraged his friends and family to nourish theirs, too.

Harry spent his last five years in Switzerland, a country whose political structure he found "congenial" to his personal ideology. Throughout his long life, wherever he lived, he remained a Southerner through and through. He loved spirited conversations with old and new friends, colleagues, and family. He compiled and added to a list of "Life's Lessons," shared with children and grandchildren (in case any had not been paying close attention along the way). The most important lessons therein he conveyed in deceptively simple terms: stay current (with your obligations and maintenance); take time to think clearly; keep learning; build on knowledge and expertise; plan for an uncertain future with the best information you can muster today; act bravely but manage risk wisely; take care of your things, your family, and your mind; act with honesty and integrity; and always, always remember that ideas, words, and facts matter and have consequences.

He was the first Chairman of the Board and later Chairman Emeritus, of Reason Foundation; a member of the Mont Pelerin Society; a Name at Lloyds of London, and later, a NameCo. Other roles and honors include: GA Tech Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award; GA Tech Foundation Board of Trustees; GA Tech Advisory Board; ISyE Advisory Board; recipient of the Rene Dubos Environmental Award in 1991.

Harry was predeceased by his wife of 48 years, Linda Grant Teasley. Survivors include second wife, Anna Stale Gervait; children, Martha Teasley Demere of Sea Island, GA, Katherine Gates Teasley, of Richmond, VA, and Harry E. Teasley III (Yatsze Mark), of Renton, WA; grandchildren, Raymond Sullivan Demere Jr., Mary Grant Demere, Harry Teasley Demere, Rebecca Grace Muth, Linda Isabel Teasley, Mona Mark Teasley, and Sadie Patrick Teasley; great-grandchildren, Amelia Sullivan Demere and Wesley Rose Demere; sister, Dorothy Odell Teasley; five dear first cousins, two stepchildren, and other extended family.

The family acknowledges with gratitude the condolences expressed on the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, fearless leader, and hero. A memorial service honoring him will take place in Sea Island on April 7, 2024. Harry would wish that any remembrance of his life be made, if so desired, in the form of a contribution to Reason Foundation, 5737 Mesmer Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90230, or to any organization dear to one's own, uniquely individual heart.