Meet Kevin Teichgrab  (TEK-grab) . . . or

How Kevin, the son of a Mennonite refugee from a farming colony in Ukraine, was born in America, grew up in the church, hitchhiked across the country (twice), questioned authority, learned a trade, married Lisa, moved to Camano Island, reared two children with Lisa, worked, retired, became the president of the church council and continues to think and live outside an ever-expanding box:

The Teichgrab Family, part of a Mennonite colony, were encouraged to farm in the Ukraine.  When the Bolshevik Revolution occurred, the family fled to Canada, settling in Yarrow (a community within the city of Chilliwack), British Columbia.  Kevin’s parents met and married while his father was learning the sheet metal trade.  In the early 1950s, a job opportunity took them to Los Angeles where Kevin, the first of their four children, was born.

In time, the Teichgrabs moved north to be closer to family in Canada and settled in Mountlake Terrace.  In 1967, the pastor at Bethesda Lutheran Church knocked on their door, invited them to church and Kevin and his siblings began to participate.  He enjoyed the youth group, sang in the choir, and was confirmed.  Despite good relationships with supportive adults in the church, once Kevin graduated from high school in 1975, he  spent some time rethinking mainstream politics, questioning authority, rejecting the way that people interacted with each other.  He left home on a journey to see America. 

Of course, being young and independent, the only way to do this was to hitchhike. The turmoil of the 1960s spilled over into the next decade and Kevin had face-to-face experience with a broad array of people from all walks of life.  He lived in Tennessee and Florida.   He made his way home, worked a while, and hitchhiked across the country again.  All in all, he traveled 35,000 miles!

What did you learn from all this?

When I looked back, I realized that people at Bethesda were good, nice people.  Pastor Hatlen and his wife were glorious people.  Being raised in that church was a good experience.

What else?

We’re all human beings.   Made in the image of God.  I met a lot of cool people.  People are really alike.  I had Jewish coworkers.  Worked with African Americans.  People from the deep south--Georgia. People from different backgrounds.  I bled, cried, sweated with these people.  We’re all the same.

How did you end up back in the Northwest?

I came back because my family is here.  And I was tired of being poor. I had to figure out a way to make money.  Ended up working as a laborer, setting tile.  It’s hard work.  Hard on your body.  When a friend in the trade told me about Airframe and Power Plant School, I applied.  Trained at South Seattle Community College and earned licenses in Power Plant (Engines) and Air Frame (Structure).   

Kevin was just finishing A & P School when he met Lisa, his wife-to-be, at a friend’s wedding.  He was hired by Boeing right after graduation.  He and Lisa married and they’ve just celebrated 35 years of marriage.  They are the parents of one son (Isaac) and one daughter (Corinne).  When their kids were young, Lisa was able to stay home with them, helping out in the cooperative preschool Corinne attended.  

When Kevin and Lisa decided to move away from the crowds and gridlock, they found property on Camano, purchased it and had a house built.  While the house was being built, their old friend (and widow of Kevin’s first pastor at Bethesda) let them rent their family cabin on the island.  She encouraged them to visit Camano Lutheran Church, and they’ve been members ever since.  When they first moved to Camano, Isaac and Corinne were in school full time and Lisa was free to work with the school district food service department.  She’s advanced through the ranks, serving as a secretary and now in accounts payable.  

Isaac is a Navy Lieutenant stationed in San Diego (but heading to Singapore soon to serve as the Executive Officer on a ship).  Isaac and his wife Sidney just made Kevin and Lisa grandparents with the birth of their first child.   After Corinne graduated from Gonzaga, she taught in Idaho for a while and just landed a teaching position in the Lakewood School District, bringing her closer to home.

How has your relationship with God changed over the years?

My relationship hasn’t changed.  My responsibilities have changed. God is everywhere at all times.  I always try to, when things go off course, bring myself back to Center.   When I was hitchhiking, I spent time on skid row.  Met bums.  Ate day-old hamburgers with them.  Saw people with alcohol problems.  I decided the Ten Commandments were a good way to go.

Where is God showing up when you meet someone you don’t  understand or agree with their beliefs/behaviors?

That’s on me.  I try to treat everyone equally.  It’s my responsibility to interact in a civil way.  Friendly.  I can still respect them as a human being.  I know that life is being in touch with God.  the rules about how we treat people, should treat people and live our life, that part has changed a bit.  The older I get, as my eyes open and thoughts open up, I am seeing the world as an unfinished work.

At Camano, when we couldn’t get a council president, Pastor Scott [Brents] asked me to serve.  I was going to say NO.  And then I thought--I really want to grow in my faith.  Socially.  This might be an opportunity to knock down a few walls.  Work with other people.  Hear their ideas.  Expand my box.  Dealing with the different people in church, I realized that a lot of them really did have a strong social conscience.  

While Kevin is no longer the president of the council, he is excited to work with the new council president, to continue to learn more about the community and its needs and to collaborate within and outside the congregation to help people live in line with their beliefs.