Terry Teachout, R.I.P.

I was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Wall Street Journal theatre critic Terry Teachout who died in his sleep this morning the age of 65. Teachout was also an accomplished playwright, librettist and biographer of the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and H.L. Mencken.

The source of my shock and sadness is the fact that we were friendly on Twitter. Imagine that!!! Being friendly on Twitter . We occasionally exchanged messages and replies. Much of our exchanges revolved around the health of his wife Hilary who had a rare condition which required a double lung transplant. Despite her frequent hospitalizations and the never ending wait for a donor he retained a cheerful disposition. 

She would finally get the transplant in February 2020, but the procedure did not work and passed away at the end of March just as the COVID-19 pandemic had subsumed the world. Shortly after her death, Teachout wrote in Commentary, "Now I am alone again, far more so than when Hilary and I first met." But by last fall, Teachout had found love again and sounded a contented, optimistic note for 2022 on New Year's Eve:

Then, six months ago, Cheril Mulligan and I fell in love, and though I’ll always miss Hilary, my life is once again full and joyous. One of these days I’ll take Cheril down to Sanibel—I know she’ll love it—but for now I’m more than content to live in the present and revel in the return of good fortune to my once-charmed, twice-blessed life.

I don’t need to know what’s to come next, which is a blessing, since it’s not given to any of us to know that. The only thing I know is that more surprises await me in 2022.

This passage is both full of joy and sadness. It is joyous that Terry Teachout found a new lease on life, but sad that lease came to an end without notice. Alas there will be no more surprises in store for him - good or bad. While he will never be able to take Cheril to Sanibel, Terry Teachout lived his final days in contented with the present and without worry for the future. We should all be so blessed. R.I.P.