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It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our father, grandfather, and founder, Albert Richard Retelle. He was a wonderful man - an avid outdoorsman, skier, bird watcher, gardener and traveler, devoted husband of 60+ years and grandfather to 13 - and he had truly the kindest spirit. His daughters, Nancy and Julie, who cared for him in his final days, wrote a beautiful obituary cataloguing his many accomplishments. He gave so much to the town of Andover, and our family, and will be forever missed.
We feel very blessed to continue his legacy through Retelle Tree, which he passed down to his son, Peter, in 1982. His grandson, Riki, will soon take over and be a 3rd generation owner. It's a true honor to have the privilege of operating a family owned business for so many years. It's not always easy, but at the end of the day there's nothing better than being with family. And to 'Papa', family was everything. To honor him in the best way we knew how, we came together - sons, daughters, son-in-laws, daughter-in-laws, grandsons, granddaughters, cousins, boyfriends, girlfriends - and spent 2 full days building him a casket out of a solid oak log that we removed from a home in North Andover. As a lifelong tree guy, we think he would have loved it.
We are so appreciative to all those who knew Al and spent time sharing stories with us at the calling hours as well as over the past several days. It's been a gift to hear how many lives he touched. We want to thank everyone for their kind words, and especially acknowledge the West Parish Garden Cemetery, where Al was a devoted board member. They were invaluable in helping to coordinate the calling hours and service and we will be forever grateful for that.
May he rest peacefully.
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