Karl William Teepe – Lieuenant Colonel, United States Army, & Government Employee

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Karl W. Teepe
Attack Location: Pentagon
Age: 57
Home: Centreville, Virginia

Karl Teepe would sometimes take the Metro from the Pentagon to the Mall on his lunch break. He’d sit in a sculpture garden, or one of the Smithsonian Institution galleries, just to let the beauty sink in.

It had been a beautiful year. His daughter Wendy, 28, got married. His son Adam, 22, graduated from college.

“I think we were the most important thing to him,” said Adam.

The family wanted to find a photograph that seemed appropriate. His Army and Defense Intelligence Agency IDs wouldn’t do. For those, he would always make the funniest face possible. They chose the one from Wendy’s wedding — the glowing father of the bride.

Karl W. Teepe, 57, was born in St. Louis. He worked as a budget analyst. At home in Centreville, he spent his time making his surroundings beautiful — the yard, the deck, the house. He took classes on the human genome, the Civil War, painting.

“Every time I came home, he had some exhibit I had to see,” Wendy said.

At Christmas, he told the stories during the family slide show, bringing alive years of memories.

Before his Pentagon office was struck, he and his wife, Donna, planned a night out to see Garrison Keillor.

“We still have the tickets,” she said.

  — Michael Laris

NOTE: Colonel Teepe was laid to rest in Section 64 of Arlington National Cemetery, in the shadows of the Pentagon.

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