Mary Ann Teetor, 93, was active in community affairs
April 3, 2022
Mary Ann Compton Teetor, who was active in the civic and political life of her former home in Fort Wayne, Ind., died April 3 at her home in Pawleys Island. She was 93.
She was born Oct. 28, 1928, in Indianapolis, the daughter of Clara Ruth (Meid) and Charles William Compton. The family lived at varying times in Indianapolis and Carmel, Ind., where Mary Ann attended public schools.
With her older brothers in the Army during World War II and her mother working full-time, Mary Ann took over the housekeeping and cooking duties while in high school. However, she refused to let that interfere with her social life. She claimed to know each of her more than 400 classmates at Shortridge High School personally. She graduated in 1946, then earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics education from Indiana University Bloomington in 1950.
During her college years, she met her future husband, Tom. They were married June 24, 1950, and lived in Cincinnati before settling in Fort Wayne. She joined the Junior League and helped organize and perform with their puppetry group. They achieved prominence for the productions they created for elementary schools, representing the Junior League at the national convention of puppeteers.
During her youth, she was a member of the Methodist Church, but a few years after moving to Fort Wayne, Mrs. Teetor joined and was an active member of Plymouth Congregational Church. She was also a member of Psi Iota Xi service sorority and worked at the Christmas Bureau for years. Although she preferred to be just one of the workers, she was elected president of the Women’s Committee for the Philharmonic (now the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Foundation).
She dragged her husband into politics and public service, serving as his vice committeeman (and doing 90 percent of the work) of the Allen County Republican Party for 25 years. She served as co-chairman of a congressional campaign and declined an offer to be county vice chair.
She was active in PTA and a serious taskmistress to her four daughters when it came to both schoolwork and learning how to do more than boil water.
Mrs. Teetor was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, Duodecimo research club, The Saturday Club (that met on Monday), Child Study (an arcane group of wives who deigned to disclose the real subject material) and two bridge clubs. She loved bridge and played until the games were stopped in 2020 by the pandemic. Her sense of humor was legend. One of her husband’s co-workers called her “the funniest lady in town.”
Mrs. Teetor faced challenges with courage and humor. When her husband got his pilot’s license to fly his own plane on business, she took a course to learn how to land if the pilot become incapacitated. Hoping to wean him from flying, she suggested they take a course and charter a boat on vacation. “I can swim; I can’t fly,” she said. They got a boat, too. Asked if she enjoyed the plane trips, she said, “I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had known I would live through it.”
The Teetors moved to Fort Myers, Fla., for a few years before they moved to Pawleys Island, where their youngest daughter and her husband lived. They moved into the Lakes at Litchfield in 2011.
Mrs. Teetor was one of God’s best people, her family said.
She is survived by her husband, Thomas S. Teetor; her daughters, Elizabeth T. Sherman, Barbara T. Waite (Erin), Catherine T. Miles (Mark) and Ruth T. Filchak (Tom); nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Her brothers, Charles W. Compton and David Meid Compton, and her sisters-in-law, Kathryn C. Compton and Constance T. Rodie, died before her.
Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.
Services will be announced. Interment will be in Indiana.
