Teade Sysling grew up in Amsterdam, the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation of WWII. After the war, he worked as a waiter and steward at several European hotels and on ships traveling between Europe and N America. After immigrating to the US, he worked for Motorola for many years, followed by stints at Coors Porcelain and retired after working as the sales managing partner for a small company in the water treatment industry. Teade is fluent in Dutch, English, German, and French, and spends his retirement teaching classes and playing with his four grandchildren (Jillian, Teade, Wyatt, and Cole). He and Rita, his wife of 55 years, live in Denver, Colorado, near their two daugthers, Loni, who is married to Harold Koller, and Yvonne, who is married to Barry Mercer.