Obituary for Gene Atkins Teel

Gene Atkins Teel, lovingly known to all as “Bull”, departed this earth for his heavenly home on Friday, March 25, 2022. Bull passed peacefully, his family by his side, following a lengthy illness.

Bull was born on November 23, 1951, the second son born to J. Willard and Mary Mangus Teel. Along with his older brother, Lee, the Teel family operated a dairy and beef farm in the Riner area. Until his illness, the two brothers, along with his nephew, Randy, continued to run the farm his late parents had established.

Bull was a kind and generous soul, and many affectionately refer to him as a pillar and staple of the Riner Community. The unofficial mayor of Riner, Bull supported his hometown in many ways. A 1970 graduate of Auburn High School (AHS), where he played basketball and was actively involved with the FFA, Bull was a long-time supporter of his alma mater. Bull was a member of the AHS football program “Chain Gang”, carrying the chain at home football games for many years. When Auburn had a home basketball game, you could find Bull sitting at the scorer’s table, where he kept the clock for 50 years. Bull use to attend Agriculture classes at Auburn as a guest lecturer. To acknowledge and recognize their contributions, AHS renamed the gymnasium after Bull and Lee.

Recognizing the need to further serve the Riner Community, Bull and Lee made land along Route 8 available to the county for the purpose of building a new Fire Department and recreational facilities.

Bull was also an avid supporter of Virginia Tech Athletics, and attended football and basketball games for decades. He was a member of the UT Prosim Society at Virginia Tech. He was an active member of the Radford Church of Christ. He said the most important day of his life was April 2, 1964, the day he was baptized into Christ. He loved his church family, and leaves behind many special friends. He served on numerous civic and service boards throughout his lifetime.

Bull was fascinated with numbers. Bull could recite from memory the scores of major sporting events. He knew the dates, the teams, and the final scores. Upon meeting Bull, he would ask your birthday. He would then tell you the day of the week you were born and tell you of others who shared the same birthday. On your birthday, you could expect to receive a call from Bull, usually asking what time cake and ice cream would be served. He made around 4,500 calls each year. As children, his nieces would often test his abilities to add, multiply, divide, and subtract, and he usually did the calculations in his head, faster than a calculator.

Serving his community was important to him and he wanted to continue to help his community after his death. His desire was to establish a scholarship supporting AHS students. This scholarship will be called The Teel Family Scholarship. In lieu of flowers, monetary donations can be sent to the Bull Teel Educational Trust Fund, C/O Lee Teel, 2150 Meadow Creek Road, Christiansburg, VA 24073.

Surviving are his wife, Sue Teel; brother and sister-in-law, Lee and Roberta Teel; nieces and nephews, Leigh Ann Teel, Kim (Joe) Wilson, and Randy Teel; great niece and nephew, Debra (Cody) Hopper and Tyler Wilson; uncle, Don (Cathy) Teel; aunt, Peggy (Roger) Sheppard; numerous cousins; and many friends and neighbors.

The family would like to thank all Bull’s caregivers.

The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at Auburn High School in the Teel Gymnasium. A celebration of Bull’s life will begin at 3 p.m. with Mr. John Croft officiating.

Per Bull’s request, no flowers will be accepted.

The Teel family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford. www.mullinsfuneralhome.com