“He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds.”
— Psalm 147:3
A tribute to Sammy “Superman” (Kal-L) Teusch; Feb. 21, 2014 — his life spanned to — May 5, 2024.
Standing 54½ inches tall with a cape full of hope, in an adventurous boyhood burgeoning toward a fun-filled, exciting life, aptly given was Sammy’s middle name: Kal-L, the original iteration for Superman.
He had towers in his life, as in Twin Towers or “womb mates,” older and loving fraternal twin brothers, Oliver and Xander. They were central to his growing-up years with many shared journeys, like fishing trips with Crocs on the dock and a fish on the line, Indiana Pacers games, family movie nights, meandering through creeks with crawdads in tow, zoo excursions, Hungry Jack Grinch-green pancakes on Saturday mornings, finding four-leaf clovers on the soccer field, strolling on winding trails and togetherness as the twins watched over their little-but-very-big-hearted brother, Sammy.
Scarlett was nearby her three brothers with a watchful eye on youngest brother, by fits-and-starts or leaps and bounds as siblings with love for each other. Vacations were packed with memories and would take them through Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey — adding New York on Spring Break in 2023.
The Big Apple brought lots of laughs and special moments, like ferry rides, the Statue of Liberty, the 9-11 Memorial, New York-style pizza, the Empire State Building and GhostBusters Firehouse Co. 8 from Sammy’s favorite movie, “Ghostbusters” (1984).
En route to NYC, nostalgia had them pass through Westwood, New Jersey, to see one of three remaining Kmart locations in the United States. There was a pay phone mounted on a wall, and their dad brimmed with a smile as he took a selfie of this relic to affectionate snickers from the kiddos.
The family of six went sauntering down the classic oceanfront American Boardwalk on a sunny day in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, brimming with smiles, then to playing on North Beach and having lunch at a famed hotdog stand.
Sammy and his siblings made plans for their future trips to Yellowstone, the Avenue of the Giants Redwood Trees in California, Dollywood 3.0 and the West Coast.
From a recent height-measuring session at the Teusch home, he was one-half inch taller. After remeasuring three times, Sammy knew he was now tall enough to ride his favorite excursion at Dollywood on the family’s third four-day trip this summer.
On one visit, Sammy rode the Blazing Fury 25 times while hilarity kept him from mere exhaustion. “Scream through town on this indoor roller coaster, taking each hill and curve with great speed as they try to outrun the fire,” reads a sign at the entrance.
Back home in Indiana, he connected well with others, affecting a smile with bespectacled charisma, often creating a mirror response around him. Joshua and Judah were his close and real-time pals; they saw fit to make a better version of one another as true friends.
Daisy the great Pyrenees would receive regular bear hugs from Sammy. His affectionate black cat with white socks, Fergie, always seemed close by or dangling from a nearby perch. Timmy and Lucy rounded out the remainder of the family cats.
Sensitive, kind, and caring were how his close circle would talk about him, and his parents Sam and Nicole Teusch’s hearts would swell with pride when hearing these qualities from others about their son, as he was on the right path forward with many good things to come!
A heartfelt prayer:
Dear and kind Lord,
Sammy left us a lifetime of memories. Thank you for sharing him with us as a special gift. There’s a little cape in Heaven, yet our hearts are heavy here below. Prompt our hearts to respond to bullying in loving, practical, fierce and prayerful ways, firstly and lastly. In the first place, in the last place — for those in need of visible love and impactful acceptance — We are Sammy, They are Sammy, I am Sammy!
Amen.
This is the first in a two-set series of columns by the Rev. Markus Dennis, pastor of Riley Friends Church, pertaining to how faith responds to trauma. Hope for Living is a weekly column written by local clergy members.
