STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Rev. Nora Teasley, a Staten Islander who dedicated her life to helping others through her work and in her capacity as an assistant pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church, has died. She was 81.
The beloved church and community leader, who also brought prayer into the community by visiting people too frail to venture to Sunday services, leaves a legacy of giving, faith and family.
“She’s adored by everyone. People speak extremely highly of her. She always went out of her way to check in with her parishioners,” said her granddaughter Eleanora Sullivan. “If they didn’t have what they needed at the time, she would give them whatever resources she could obtain to assist them.”
She was always focused on giving to others, but Rev. Teasley also had the strength to overcome obstacles in her own life, including health challenges and hardships.
“My mother was a survivor,” her daughter Felicia Sullivan said.
Rev. Teasley was born and raised in Gainesville, Georgia, the oldest of two girls born to Thurmond and Ella Mae McMullen. She moved to New York City, settling first in the Bronx, then in Harlem, and finally on Staten Island.
“She loved Staten Island,” said Eleanora Sullivan. “As she got older, I wanted to bring her closer to me in the Bronx, and she just refused. Staten Island was her home.”
On Staten Island, Rev. Teasley began attending services at Fellowship Baptist Church in Mariner’s Harbor, where she would become an integral part of the ministry.
Rev. Nora Teasley looks at old photos of the church on The Fellowship Baptist Church’s 50th anniversary in 2013.Jan Somma-Hammel | Advance/SILive.com
Felicia Sullivan said becoming a reverend was part of her mother’s purpose.
“She got saved in that church and decided she wanted to be on the ministry board,” Eleanora Sullivan said. “She proceeded to move forward in the ministry, becoming an evangelist, first, then going to a reverend, and then, of course, an assistant pastor.”
Rev. Teasley gave sermons every third Sunday of the month. “Her sermons were about bringing people to Christ,” Felicia Sullivan said.
On social media, Fellowship Baptist Church’s senior pastor, Rev. Alfredo Archibald, wrote of Rev. Teasley, “Our hearts are so heavy, but we take comfort in knowing she is now resting peacefully with our Lord and Savior. She was an extraordinary servant leader, the matriarch of our church, often encouraging, instructing and comforting us in her own humble way. She was a true woman of God, filled with wisdom, grace and strength who extended love and kindness to so many, including my family.
“Although her presence will be deeply missed, the legacy she leaves behind is living, not gone. Every soul she lifted, every heartfelt prayer she prayed, every genuine act of compassion she offered continues to bear so much fruit.”
A spirit of giving
Rev. Teasley gave of herself freely and with her whole heart.
She was dedicated to fostering children. One of the boys she fostered, Lawrence, arrived three days after his birth. Rev. Teasley took care of him and nurtured him. She ended up adopting him. As he grew up and struggled with ADHD and learning disabilities, Rev. Teasley made sure he got the services he needed.
“She was instrumental in the person he has become today,” said Felicia Sullivan.
Rev. Teasley was also dedicated to those in the community struggling.
Rev. Nora Teasley, second from the right, was one of six women honored in 1997 as “Women Who Work Hard and Make a Difference.”Frank Johns | Advance/SILive.com
On the first Sunday of the month, she ventured out to serve parishioners who couldn’t make it to the church. “She traveled to give Communion to the sick and shut in,” Eleanora Sullivan said.
“She was always donating something, whether it be clothes, whether it be financial, or food. She would create food pantries at the church or her building in Mariner’s Harbor.”
For 14 years, Rev. Teasley worked at Chase Manhattan Bank, first as a teller and then as an account specialist, but later in her career she pursued work that was also centered around helping people. She worked at a daycare, a senior center, and United Cerebral Palsy.
Rev. Nora Teasley, second from the right, was honored in 1996 by the Trowel Club of Silver Lake Lodge at its African-American Achievement Awards Luncheon.Irving Silverstein | Advance/SILive.com
She received numerous recognitions over the years for her decades of dedicated community service.
A long-time resident at the Mariner’s Harbor Houses, she was a tenant leader in the 1990’s, including as a neighborhood patrol leader and the community’s selected representative at state Neighborhood Based Alliance meetings.
Rev. Teasley also pursued a higher education when she was in her 50s and 60s. She obtained a bachelor’s degree from BMCC and went on to earn her master’s degree at College of Staten Island.
Rev. Nora Teasley pictured at the College of Staten island Commencement where she was awarded a master’s degree, June 2 , 2011.Jan Somma-Hammel | Advance/SILive.com‘Walk by faith and not by sight’
Rev. Teasley bravely faced a myriad of health issues: cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, aneurysms, Covid, and pneumonia. Through it all, she relied on her faith, teaching her parishioners through example.
“She showed them how to walk by faith and not by sight,” Felicia Sullivan said. “That means even though you’re going through something, God will bring you through it. Regardless of what the situation was, how hard it was, or what she was going through, she still believed that God was going to bring her through.”
“She was a firecracker,” Eleanora Sullivan said. “She was very direct with her communication, very headstrong. She had a great sense of humor. Her heart was pure. The type of love that she had for people, she may not have verbally expressed it, but she would show you in so many ways.”
Survivors and services
Rev. Teasley is survived by her sister, Kathleen McMullen; daughters, Fannie Sullivan and Felicia Sullivan and son, Lawrence Teasley; grandchildren, Eleanora Sullivan, Jason Sullivan, Ronald Johnson Jr., Kaitlyn Roberts and Lorenzo Teasley; and great grandchildren Issac Sullivan, Nora Sullivan and Nora-Lee Sullivan.
Visitation will be Sunday, Nov. 23, 3-5 p.m. at Fellowship Baptist Church, 3036 Richmond Terr. The funeral service will follow from 5 – 8 p.m.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.