Chuck Teller passed away suddenly from a heart attack while on a mountain biking trip with friends in Durango, Colorado, on Sunday, Aug. 9. He was 53.
Beloved husband, father, friend and community member, Chuck was an innovator and problem solver. He persisted until he succeeded, driven by curiosity, enthusiasm, intelligence and the desire to provide for his family.
Chuck had a unique sense of humor and playful spirit that brought joy to all who knew him. He loved basketball and was a competitive player and coveted teammate. He was a formidable rival in many other sports and games, including tennis and Scrabble. He was an avid backpacker and shared his love of nature with his family and friends on many trips to the wilderness.
Dedicated to family, hard work, friends and community, Chuck gave himself fully in all that he endeavored to do. He was a “serial entrepreneur;” his creative business ventures included developing predictive analytics tools with his business partner Marshall Miller, working at PeopleSoft, founding Catalogchoice.org and Realius Inc., and was most recently VP Product at Wise.io.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chuck was a graduate of Camp Golden Eagle, Walnut Hills High School, UC Berkeley, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Chuck is survived by his wife, Betsy Bigelow-Teller and three children, Noah, Eden and Mia Teller of Berkeley; his parents Suzanne and Jerome Teller, and brother Daniel Teller of Cincinnati, Ohio; and sister Ruth Pleaner of San Francisco. He will be profoundly missed and held in our hearts forever.
A service, open to the community, will be held Sunday, Aug. 16, at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Please arrive between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m. The service will begin promptly at 10 a.m.
In honor of Chuck’s love of the outdoors and his community, his family will be accepting donations in his memory to the National Parks Foundation, The Ecology Center, Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp, and Chochmat HaLev.
Let us strive to live our lives to the fullest as Chuck did each and every day.
Berkeleyside is always honored to publish, at no charge, obituaries of members of the Berkeley community. Please email text and photo(s) to editors@berkeleyside.com.
