SACRAMENTO, CA - As members of this industry and as residents of the Sacramento, California, region, it is with heavy hearts that we report the passing of Joyce Raley Teel, the former Co-Chair and Majority Owner of Raley’s. She was 91 years old.
The only child of Raley’s Founder Thomas P. Raley, Teel began her retail career helping behind the counter at the company’s first store in Placerville, California. However, according to an article from The Sacramento Bee, it wasn’t until 1985, when she was in her 50s, that she dove into her career with Raley’s.
During that time, she transitioned from being a mother to becoming a businesswoman and community leader, her son Michael Teel, now Chairman and Owner of the company explained. When her father passed away in 1991, Teel and her husband Jim took over as Co-Chairs of the company, positions that they held for the 24 years that followed.
Throughout those more than two decades, Teel honed her business skills while also pushing Raley’s to support more charitable causes. Through her devotion to giving, she helped create the nonprofit Food For Families, which has provided millions of meals to families in need over the years. In 2019, the organization raised $5 million to feed the hungry.
Additionally, a scholarship fund named for Teel has awarded over $250,000 to Raley’s employees and their families.
Overall, Teel’s career as Majority Owner with her husband is recognized as a time of growth. During this period, the company moved to the Bay Area in 1997 with the purchase of the Nob Hill chain.
She is survived by her husband, Jim; son Michael and his wife, Julie; daughter Claudia Doerhoff and husband Neil; her daughter Diane Perry and husband Robert; daughter Laurie Struck and husband Eric; and daughter Lisa Teel. She is also survived by her more than 50 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and their spouses.
Memorial services for Teel will be private; however, the family asked that donations be made to Food For Families, the Salvation Army, or the Joyce Nadine Raley Teel Endowment, benefitting the Crocker Art Museum to honor her philanthropic nature.
Our hearts and thoughts are with Teel’s family, the Raley’s organization, the local community, and all of those who had the pleasure of knowing this giving leader.
