Chicago broker Gordon Teach dies at 91

INVERNESS, Ill., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Gordon Teach, former chairman of the National Association of Securities Dealers, died at his home in Illinois this month at the age of 91.

Teach was a prominent Chicago stockbroker for many years, but the Chicago Tribune said he was well known as well for his decision to pass on a proposal from Ray Kroc, a colleague of his at a paper cup company, to get in on the start-up of what became the McDonald's hamburger chain.

Teach got into the brokerage business while attending Northwestern University and never did complete his degree. He parlayed a sharp analytical mind and a knack for salesmanship into a successful career at A.C. Allyn and Shearson Hamill before becoming president of Illinois Co.

Teach's son, Michael, told the newspaper his father was a firm believer in long-term investing who liked to tell clients: "Don't look at your stocks. Trust what you did."

Teach died Feb. 9 of cancer at his home in Inverness, Ill. The funeral is scheduled for March 7.