- Date Of Birth: July 8, 1925
- Date Of Death: January 2, 2011
- State: Maine
Bette Teschner Zeller died on January 2, 2011, at her home in New Harbor, Maine, after a battle with cancer. She was born July 8, 1925 in Duluth, Minnesota, the daughter of Hans Edward Bernt and Miriam Hall. She graduated from Newton (MA) High School in 1943, attended Monticello Junior College in Illinois, and graduated from the Boston School of Occupational Therapy in 1946. She married her childhood sweetheart Douglass Paul Teschner in 1947, and they raised three sons in Westborough, MA. Her husband died tragically in a car accident in 1964. In 1973, she moved to the Pemaquid Trail in Maine where the family had owned a summer home since 1960. In 1976, she started Adams Travel in Damariscotta with Charlie Adams. In 1979, she married Dr. Alan W. Zeller in a joyous celebration on Loud’s Island, and they sailed away on their honeymoon, one of their many sea voyages along the Atlantic coast. The couple lived overseas from 1986-1993 when Alan was Medical Director for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Botswana, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. She was a member and pillar of the Congregational Church of Bristol, ME, and a founding member of the Early Birds prayer group. She was a devoted Red Sox and Patriots fan. Bette was known for her magnanimous personality, loving nature, generous hospitality, and optimistic and hopeful, positive energy. She held together and nurtured an extraordinary and extensive network of family and friends. She was famous for baking and delivering countless chocolate chip cookies to everyone she knew. Many charitable organizations and numerous strangers benefited from her endless capacity to give. She exemplified this quote (author unknown): People will forget what you said, They will forget what you did, But they will never forget how you made them feel. She is survived by her husband Dr. Alan W. Zeller of New Harbor; three sons: Douglass Paul Teschner (Jr.) of Pike, NH and Kiev, Ukraine; David Hall Teschner of Petersburg, VA; and James Carver Teschner of Concremiers, France; five stepchildren: Frank K. Zeller of Nobleboro, ME; Sarah L. Zeller of Newcastle, ME; Alan W. “Chops” Zeller II of Newcastle, ME; Robert S. Zeller of Boston, MA, and George W. Zeller of Warrensville, NC; her sister Blanche Steiner of Bristol, RI; ten grandchildren; and one great grandchild. She was predeceased by her first husband, Douglass P. Teschner, her brother John Bernt, and her parents.
