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Lieutenant Commander Mitch Teeger was Natalie Teeger's late husband.

Biography[]

A pilot for the U.S. Navy, he was shot down in the Kosovo War. According to the Lee Goldberg novel "Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii", Mitch was 26 when he died in 1998, two days before his 27th birthday. The Navy told Natalie that there is evidence that Mitch ran away from the crash site and abandoned his men before he was killed by enemy forces (Mr. Monk and the Election). Natalie isn't sure what to believe, as she was always certain that her husband was a brave man. Aside from the Navy, the only other person who knows of Mitch's suspected cowardice is Adrian Monk, whom Natalie told in the strictest confidence. In the book series ("Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii"), it is revealed that Mitch likely ran from the crash site to draw a Serbian patrol away from his injured crew.

In Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse, it is revealed that while the Teegers were living in an apartment complex in South Carolina during Mitch's deployment there, they lived on the same floor as a self-professed Voodoo priestress named Miss Ayida, who once claimed that Mitch's life was in danger. Natalie ignored her warning, only to find out the next day that Mitch had been killed in action, leading to her becoming very superstitious and developing a crippling fear of voodoo.

Mitch and Natalie had one daughter, Julie, who was named, at Mitch's insistence, after his aunt, whom he greatly admired. Before he died, Mitch gave Julie a pet marble fish, "Mr. Henry," that she is very fond of. Since it was one of the few things Julie had to remember her father by, Natalie secretly replaced it year after year, since the original fish had a short lifespan. (Monk: "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring")

In "Mr. Monk Is On The Run", Natalie gives Monk, who escaped from custody, Mitch's uniform to wear. Mitch was a recipient of the following awards: Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), and Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait). This shows that Mitch also served in the Gulf War (1990-1991).

Trivia[]

  • Mitch's likeness is provided by co-producer Doug Nabors.
  • Mitch dreamed of becoming an astronaut. To Natalie's sorrow, he was sent an acceptance letter from NASA barely a week after his death. (Mr. Monk and the Red Herring)
  • Natalie was given basic firearms training by Mitch, as mentioned in Mr. Monk and the Three Julies and the novel Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop.
  • In Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees, Natalie mentions that Mitch's father passed sometime before Mitch's death and that they traveled to Carolina (which isn't specified) to spread his ashes at the beachside.
  • In the novel Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse, it is revealed that early in their relationship, Mitch and Natalie eloped to Paris, although it is later shown in Mr. Monk is Miserable that it was evidently the city in Texas rather than the capital of France.
  • In real life, the United States military had no combatant casualties in the Kosovo War, with only two American aircrafts recorded as shot down by enemy fire.
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