Joseph J. Tecce passed away peacefully at home in Wellesley, MA, on April 16, 2026 at age 92.
He was born in Boston, MA, and grew up in Wakefield, MA. He was the son of the late Amelia (Petrucci) and Giuseppe Tecce, and the brother of the late Mary Giangregorio and the late Peter Leone.
He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary Jo (Spigelmire) Tecce; and children Anthony C. Tecce of Somerville; Maria A. Tecce of Dublin, Ireland; Peter M. Tecce, and his wife, Lynne N. Harrold, of Wellesley; Susanna M. Ralli, and her husband, James A. Ralli, of Natick; and Christopher J. Tecce of Newton; and granddaughter Cara E. Tecce of Wellesley.
As a child, Joe was extremely bright, and was a good student. He was also a talented athlete, excelling in baseball, basketball, football, tennis, and swimming, once swimming the length of Lake Quannapowitt and back. He would continue swimming throughout his life.
After graduating with honors from Wakefield High School, Joe was admitted to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME. He studied hard, and did well academically. He developed an interest in psychology, and after graduation was admitted to Catholic University in Washington, DC, where he earned his Ph.D. in psychology.
At Catholic University, Joe met Mary Jo Spigelmire of Baltimore, MD, and they married in 1959. After several years in Washington, DC, they decided to move to the Boston area in 1965, and found a beautiful home in Wellesley, MA, where they spent the next 61 years. Before the move, Joe felt a duty to serve his country, and he eventually earned the rank of Captain in the Medical Services Corps of the U.S. Army Reserves.
In the early 1970s, Joe began to focus on teaching. He taught at Tufts University, Boston University, Harvard University, and Mass. General Hospital. When an opportunity opened up at Boston College in 1971, Joe became a part-time professor there.
As he began his 48-year career at BC, Joe learned about the health benefits of Transcendental Meditation, and began teaching all of his students to meditate to help them reduce stress. He also gave his students the assignment of doing something nice for someone without expecting anything in return. The students reported feeling surprisingly good after their generous act, and the Good Samaritan Project was born. Later, he used his experience in electronically recording eyeblinks and eye movements to help disabled students at Boston College’s Campus School to use a cursor with their eyes to form words as part of the Eagle Eyes Project.
Joe specialized in studying body language—especially eyeblinks—as a reflection of stress. He eventually had a 30-year role as a media psychologist, with 694 television and radio interviews. Through the course of his career, he published 99 articles and contributions to journals and books, and gave 83 presentations at conferences, and 154 presentations for students, academic communities, and the public.
Joe enjoyed meeting new people, and loved to tell humorous stories and make people laugh. Joe can rest now, and be content with a life defined by purpose, compassion, and a commitment to the common good. His legacy lives on in the hundreds of students he mentored, the innovations he helped pioneer, and the family he loved deeply.
Visiting hours will be held at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St, (Rt.16) Wellesley on Thursday, April 30 from 4-7pm. A Funeral Mass will be held in St. John the Evangelist Church, Wellesley Hills on Friday, May 1 at 11am. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Interment private.