Contributions to the tribute of Eric Andrew Tell

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Andrew Tell posted a condolence

Monday, November 4, 2024

Growing up, the greatest words I could hear from my father were, “Andrew, check this out.” Because, I knew what I was about to see was going to alter the chemistry in my brain irreversibly. I remember watching the final scene from “Aliens” with my dad when I was too young to be watching that movie. I still feel the excitement and joy coming from my dad as we watched Ripley fight the alien queen. It’s the same feeling I have when Chief Brody took the shot at the Shark. Or when Gandalf makes his final stand against the Balrog. My dad showed me that the world is filled with adventure and stories to tell. He was always a story teller to me, from his many scuba diving adventures in the Caribbean, to the now classic movies he saw at Beach Stadium Cinema, and his many outings to find rare birds or catch his favorite fish. A few weeks ago, he told me “I’m always thinking about ideas” and my first instinct, as his son, was to ask him “what does that even mean.” What he said boiled down to this: he was constantly thinking about the big picture, he had this amazement with something larger than any of us. He relished in the splendor; the ideas that make us more than an individual, more than a society, more than anything. I think this relates to his fascination with the Ocean. He was obsessed with the aquatic ever since he was a child, and that something so large and unbelievable was in front of him every summer in LBI. He knew that the only limit to ones potential was their own drive to get something done. If he was interested in doing something, he would make sure it happened. His love for learning is a skill that I have never seen in any other person. And when he learned something new, you would learn something new because he would tell you over and over and over again. But it’s hard to tune him out, because his passion and excitement were infectious. And when he wanted to learn something, he would do so at full force. This past father’s day, I bought him a field guide on the insects of New Jersey. And for the next few months, when I would come home I would be immediately bombarded with hundreds of pictures of dragonflies that he would then explain to me their anatomy and how this dragonfly is different from the hundreds of other dragonflies he had just shown me. I would give everything, just to hear my father ramble endlessly about the new hobby he was interested in (he was just about to get into agate cutting), or the entire plot of a movie that came out more than thirty years ago, or what he thought really happened in the case of the Beast of Gévaudan (an obscure piece of french folklore involving a werewolf). I want to hear my dad say a joke that would make everyone groan from frustration or laugh from just the silliness of his personality. When looking at my father’s life and death, I think it is important to remember the wisdom of the Tralfamadorians. Plunger shaped aliens from Kurt Vonneguts, “Slaughter House 5.” They are beings from another planet who percieved all of time happening at once. From his birth on New Year's Day 1966 to just last week, the wonderful life of Eric Tell is on display for these aliens in the same way that we take in a view of the Rocky Mountains. All of our lives, the lives of our ancestors, the lives of those that will come after us has already happened, and is happening now, and is yet to happen. My father is still alive to me as he is to you, in the countless ways that he touched your lives.

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Brianda Gosselin- Hickey uploaded photo(s)

Friday, November 1, 2024

A couple of years ago, my husband Jaydn and I lived with Eric for about a month. It was a hectic time in our lives and at the tail end of COVID. We needed a place to stay, and the Tell family welcomed us with love and care into their Shore home. Although family members popped by throughout the month, we mostly lived with Eric because it was the middle of summer and the boat (& fish) was calling! Although we had been friends with Kate for years, It was then that we really started to get to know Eric. He treated us with an the kindness only a deeply loving father could, he cared for us as if we were part of the family. He taught us about fishing, his latest fascinations, music, and we laughed over fish dinners. I will always carry this memory of pure care and kindness in my heart. It will forever serve as the mold of how to care for others and make them feel not just welcomed, but like they belong.

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Susan ODonnell posted a condolence

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away to the next room. I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, That, we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without effect. Without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same that it ever was. There is absolute unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you. For an interval. Somewhere. Very near. Just around the corner. -Henry Scott Holland

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Laura O'Connor posted a condolence

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

My deep condolences to the Tell family. Eric was an immensely thoughtful and helpful colleague with a genius mind that transformed capital markets. His enthusiasm and creativity for efficient capital solutions carried across oceans and inspired clients and colleagues all over the world. RIP Eric and sending support to his family and friends

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Joan Tell uploaded photo(s)

Monday, October 28, 2024

I first met Eric in 1984 in Honor's Seminar at Cook College, Rutgers University. He was a straight A agricultural economics major and I was an environmental science major. Why ag economics, you ask? Because unlike all the other colleges at Rutgers, Cook offered guaranteed housing all 4 years. That's Eric in a nutshell: clever, innovative and forward-thinking. We thought we were the only two cool kids in the most nerdy program in all of Rutgers. But it was not just his sparkling blue eyes and cool hair that captured my attention. It was his off-beat sense of humor, his passion for learning and his desire to spend time talking to me! Once we made it official, we became a two-some and never looked back. Rutgers remained our home through graduate school where Eric was valedictorian of the Rutgers Business School - Newark earning MBAs in finance and accounting. I stayed in New Brunswick performing research to support my masters and PhD. Although we both had opportunities to leave New Jersey for our studies, we both recognized how important family was to us. New Jersey was our home for good. Starter home in Rockaway, NJ, wedding (at Rutgers of course), a dog Fisher and a cat Sybil completed our family for the first six years. We loved to travel, fish, scuba dive, and spend time with our families. In 1997, along came Kate, a birth that was fraught with complications and unknowns. Here Eric shined. He may not have been so great at the little things but he always stepped up in critical times offering comfort, direction and optimism as we made daily treks to the NICU. Kate made a full and complete recovery, Bless the Lord. Andrew followed in 2001 and our family, now in Denville, was complete. He just loved hanging with his kids, playing silly games he invented, sleeping on the air mattress (all 4 of us) and watching movies. By then, Eric had fully transitioned from accounting to the world of finance where he leveraged his creativity and business acumen to develop new products to support the insurance industry, several times earning "Deal of the Year" accolades. He was passionate, curious and a lover of learning. Anything he set his sights on he not only achieved but exceeded. Whether it was learning to play the piano to writing full songs, mastering a variety of martials arts to become an instructor, or perfecting the perfect rigs to match the perfect fish under all situations, he became accomplished in each and everything he undertook. And he loved to share his interests with anyone and everyone. It seemed like he could find a thread and connect to you by sharing stories, puns, and knowledge. Eric Tell was the best thing that ever happened to me. I cherish our 40 years together and will miss him terribly. I will take solace in every bird I see, every jazz song I listen to and every bad joke I hear. I never did see us as soul mates until now; but it's obvious. - Joan Griffith Tell

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The family of Eric Andrew Tell uploaded a photo

Monday, October 28, 2024

In loving memory of

Eric

1966 - 2024