DOUGLAS was among the most respected of advocates in Edinburgh after being called to the bar in November 1947.
Born on April 23, 1919, in Chalmers Street, near the Meadows, he was the only child of James Teesdale, a mining engineer, and his wife,
Isobel.
The family left the city not long afterwards to settle down in the East Lothian town of Longniddry, where Douglas grew up.
Mr Teesdale attended the Royal High School on Calton Hill, where he excelled in the classics and Latin.
After leaving the school he was accepted into Edinburgh University to study law but the intervening war years interrupted his learning, when with the Royal Artillery the 20-year-old student was posted to Burma.
It was in his first year at the university when he was introduced by friends to his future wife, Rita, the daughter of an East Lothian farmer who had settled in Argentina. Throughout World War Two the sweethearts exchanged letters.
He returned to Edinburgh after being demobbed in 1946 to finish his studies at university and on graduating secured a position with the prestigious MacAndrew, Wright & Murray law firm in Edinburgh.
In 1950 he accepted a position on the Nigerian Bar as part of an exchange of advocates in the Commonwealth.
His fiancée joined him and the couple were married there on January 7, 1951. They stayed until 1960 when the country gained its independence from Britain.
When they returned to East Lothian, Douglas continued with his legal work and the couple started a family at their East Lothian farm. The couple had a daughter, Henrietta, and son, Douglas.
Former colleagues of Mr Teesdale, including retired QCs John Mitchell and Douglas Reith, said Mr Teesdale, who retired in 1990, was dedicated to his profession and respected by his peers.
But it was after leaving the legal world that he managed to indulge in another of his passions. He became a prominent seller of antique books and had several books published, including an anthology of poems. Most of all though he savoured the time he spent with his six grandchildren.
His daughter, Henrietta, said: "Father was a gentleman, very much of the old school variety. He wasn't one of those people who would blow his own trumpet in life but was successful in everything he did, from being an advocate, farming, and literature.
"But most of all he was a loving father and wonderful grandfather, very much loved by his grandchildren. There was nothing more he liked than to be surrounded by his grandchildren, taking them out on trips along the coast.
"Our father was an unassuming man, who while his work was important, always maintained the one thing it was important to be a success in was raising a family."
A private funeral service was being held today at Mr Teesdale's request.
He is survived by his son and daughter, and grandchildren, Alice, Jamie, Molly, Annabel, Rose and Charlotte.
The full article contains 508 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
