Katherine Brehm Tilton Teel died Feb. 7. She was 85.

Katherine was born July 27, 1928, the only child of Ralph F. and Lucetta Brehm Tilton of Chilmark. She was very proud of her heritage as a Tilton and their 300-plus year history on Martha’s Vineyard. Her mother’s family, the Brehms, were from Indiana, several of whom were well known artists and illustrators. Katherine spent most of her childhood on the Vineyard. She worked at her parents’ bed and breakfast and was a Menemsha Beach lifeguard. She left the Island to attend high school at the Northfield School for Girls in Northfield, Mass.

Katherine graduated from Simmons College and received her master’s degree from Tufts University. She was a registered dietician and taught at Harvard Medical School where she met her late husband, Dr. Peter Teel. They were married on May 31, 1952.

Katherine moved from Boston to San Diego, Calif., to join Peter as he finished his naval service and started his private surgical practice in the late 1950s. In 1964, they moved to Billings, Mont., where Katherine was a homemaker and worked as a registered dietician.

Katherine participated in her family’s pursuit of outdoor adventures in Montana, which included cross-country skiing in Yellowstone Park and the Beartooth and Bighorn Mountains, boating down the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, and spending time at their vacation home on Flathead Lake. She was an active member of the American Association of University Women, P.E.O. International, and other organizations. Katherine was a wonderful hostess and well known for her delicious cakes.

She returned full time with her husband to Martha’s Vineyard in the early 2000s. She was a member of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club. Her grandchildren will remember the homemade chocolate and butterscotch sauces she made as a treat during their visits to the Island.

Katherine was predeceased by her husband, Peter Teel, and their daughter Elizabeth Ann Teel. She will be sorely missed by her sons, Derrick B. Teel and his wife Kathryn A. Teel of Oak Bluffs, and Philip C. Teel and his wife Linda G. Teel of Cumberland, R.I., and her five grandchildren: Angela, Caroline, Grace, Isabel and Peter. She is also survived by her extended Martha’s Vineyard family.

A memorial service will be held at a later date on Martha’s Vineyard.