Dr. Robert J. Teare

TUSCALOOSA Dr. Robert J. Teare, 74, of Tuscaloosa, died peacefully the morning of June 13, 2007, in Lafayette, Calif., at the home of his son and daughter-in-law, John and Myra Teare.

Dr. Teare, who was born February 9, 1933, in Cleveland, Ohio, met Marjorie Mary Simon in 1951 at a Catholic Youth Organization meeting in Indianapolis, Ind. They married December 31, 1955. After receiving a BS in clinical psychology from St. Louis University in 1955, he attended Purdue University, where in 1960 he earned a PhD in Industrial Psychology. A much-esteemed Professor of Social Work at the University of Alabama from 1976 to 1998, he continued to teach part-time for the nine years after his retirement. At the time of his death, he was both a volunteer teacher of horticulture at Hillcrest High School and an active contributor to Habitat for Humanity.

Dr. Teare was preceded in death by his parents, Albert and Helen Teare, and two grandchildren, Nicholas Teare and James Robert Teare.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Marjorie Mary; his six children, Catherine Teare-Ketter (Dennis Ketter), Margo Mills, John Teare (Myra Guzman-Teare), David Teare (Katherine Taylor Teare), Steven Teare, and Brian Teare (Robert Barber); his sister, Barbara Ro (Chuno Ro) and two nephews, Nicholas and Christopher Ro; and six grandchildren, Christopher, Michael, and Elena Teare, Andrew Ketter, and John Morgan and Mia Teare.

A mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 21, 2007, at Holy Spirit Church, with a viewing held the hour prior. Interment will follow at Tuscaloosa Memorial Park with Tuscaloosa Memorial Chapel Funeral Home directing. The family respectfully requests that live green and/or flowering plants be sent to the Church instead of floral arrangements. Donations for the Robert J. Teare Memorial Garden Fund will be gratefully accepted.

Pallbearers will be John, David and Stephen Teare, Dennis Ketter, Robert Wells and Tommie Davis.