Highlands community mourns No. 1 fan Eddie Teorsky

He was known as The Mayor, Mr. P.R. and Highlands’ No. 1 fan.

Harrison native Eddie Teorsky was best known as a supporter of the Highlands community — but it was just as much of a fan of him.

“He was at every practice and on every sideline of every sport,” said retired Harrison police Officer Kevin Gourley. “He was the high school janitor, and he worked in the cafeteria. The room lit up when he walked in. There wasn’t anybody who picked on that kid. He had a smile for everyone.”

Teorsky died Wednesday at 57. His cause of death was not released.

The Harrison native had Down syndrome, but it didn’t stop him from making his mark in the community.

A 1986 graduate of the Sunrise School in Monroeville, Teorsky grew up in the Natrona Heights neighborhood behind Arby’s, where, later in life, he ate dinner most nights of the week.

In the 1990s, he worked at McDonald’s on Freeport Road, where manager Steve Meanor said, “Eddie knew how to work the room.”

“I’d ask him if something was done, and he’d smile and say: ‘I’ll take care of it! I’m talking!’ ” Meanor said. “He was a great employee, never late, and people would come in just to see him.”

A fixture at Highlands

In 1994, Teorsky pivoted careers and began working for the school district, first as a special events helper and later as custodian.

For a bit, he worked in the cafeteria with the designated job of “cheese man” for the lunch nachos.

For years, Harrison police would chauffeur him to and from work at the high school.

“He knew I’d be there, but he’d still call me at 8 and say, ‘I’m ready,’ ” Gourley said. “That kid was like a son and a brother to me, my right arm for 20 years. It’s gonna be tough without him.”

Following his parents’ death, Teorsky lived independently in a small apartment near Dairy Queen, which he referred to as his bachelor pad.

Gourley and a group of others, including longtime Highlands sportscaster Mike Choma and childhood friend Jon Bouchat, would pitch in to check on Teorsky every day.

“I’d take him a gallon of milk every Friday,” Choma said. “We all had a day to just check and make sure everything was OK.”

Bouchat said he’d have dinner with Teorsky once a week at Arby’s. He laughed recalling what a character he was.

“When Eddie was coming to your house for dinner, he’d call and tell you what he wanted like he was ordering off a menu,” Bouchat said.

Teorsky was a Pitt football season ticket holder for 20 years. He attended the games with Gourley and Gourley’s son, Chad.

“We called each other blood brothers,” Chad Gourley said. “He was BB1, my dad is BB2 and I’m BB3.

“He was in my wedding, and my kids call him Uncle Eddie. He was probably the most special person in my life, outside of my immediate family.

“People could talk for days and not tell you half of what he meant to this town.”

For all his social attributes, the sports world was where Teorsky became best known locally.

The elder Gourley started bringing Teorsky to the baseball diamond as a young kid and then, later, he’d attend Chad’s high school and college games, eventually moving into the position of assistant coach.

He became the quasi-manager of every team, always smiling on the sidelines, Choma said.

“He’d line up the jerseys, and he knew all the players’ names and what numbers they wore,” he said. “On the bus ride home, he’d get 10 phone calls. He was a social butterfly.”

Unless he was away on his annual bus trip to Atlantic City with his mom, Teorsky never missed a district event.

“Eddie was one of the first employees I met when I began at Highlands,” Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said. “He was a wonderful person who loved to play jokes on me. I teased him during football season because he would ride on the golf cart and access the sidelines while I stood in the stands.”

‘RAM 4 Life’

Highlands posted a tribute on Facebook and Instagram that called Teorsky “the epitome of a RAM 4 Life” and toasted his common catchphrase, “You better believe it.”

Social media users flooded the comment section, with recollections of Teorsky leading the Tarentum holiday parade inside a police car and doling out hugs and high-fives to almost everyone he encountered.

Choma said he and broadcast partner Mike Pavlik plan to honor Teorsky during an upcoming show on Comcast Channel 190 and YouTube.

Choma’s relationship with Teorsky dates to the 1980s, when Choma began coaching district basketball and “Eddie kind of came with the team,” he said, laughing.

Choma and Pavlik awarded Teorsky with the Fan of the Year award in 1997 during a ceremony to honor local MVPs. They also were able to surprise him by having the Golden Rams marching band play “Happy Birthday” on Teorsky’s 50th birthday prior to a varsity game.

“The community meant so much to him,” Choma said. “If you could’ve seen the smile on his face, it meant everything. Everybody loved that kid, and he loved them.”