Deceased February 14, 2023
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IN MEMORY
Ken came to Amherst from John Burroughs School in St. Louis. He majored in fine arts and pledged Psi U. He graduated first in his class from Washington University Law School in 1961 and was appointed to the Antitrust Division of the U.S. DOJ under the U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Program. He became general counsel to the Democratic Policy Committee of the U.S. Senate. As legal assistant to Mike Mansfield, the Senate majority leader, Ken wrote a large part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was in Washington that Ken met the love of his life, Elizabeth Langdon, marrying in 1964. He returned to St. Louis and began working with his father at Armstrong Teasdale, eventually becoming chairman.
His charitable activities included serving on the boards of trustees of the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis Art Museum, as well as chairing the board of regents at St. Louis University. Ken loved travel, music, art, theater, wine and history. He spent his vacations on the shores of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, Fla.; the muddy rivers of Missouri; the frigid depths of Lake Charlevoix in Northern Michigan; and the meandering waterways of Europe, usually by barge.
He truly loved being an attorney, as it allowed him to flex his incredible emotional intelligence muscles, and he kept a stuffed porcupine on his desk as a reminder never to take himself too seriously.
Ken is survived by his former wife, Elizabeth Langdon Teasdale of St. Louis, Mo.; his sister, Suzanne Teasdale Zorn (Ted) of St. Louis; his daughters, Caroline Walker (Andrew) of Rye, N.Y. and Cindy Teasdale of St. Louis; his son, Doug Teasdale (Jennifer) of St. Louis; and his eight grandchildren, Nate, Elliot, Ava, Kate, Maren, Walter, Hal and Gus.
Peter Levison ’56