We were on our boat in the Bahamas when I received an e-mail from his fiancée Joanne Phillips that Ted was in the hospital in Jacksonville, FL. Sunday evening, May 25, 2008, we learned that Ted had died at the Mayo Clinic Medical Center after an extensive battle with cancer and complications resulting from pneumonia. Ted's two sons, Randy and James, were with him when he died.

After graduating from the US Air Force Academy in 1960, Ted served 29 years in the Air Force, retiring as a Colonel in 1989. He flew the C-135, C-123 and C-5 aircraft in the Military Airlift Command and was a Command Pilot. Ted flew 1,000 combat missions in C-123s and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star. He was chief negotiator for the current USA-Turkey defense treaty. He earned a Doctorate in Public Administration and a Masters in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University; and, following his military career, Ted was an Associate Professor at the University of North Florida, and chaired the University of North Florida's Department of Political Science. An Eagle Scout with 60 years of service, he was a Vigil member (the highest order in Boy Scouts of America) for the Order of the Arrow honor society.

Forty years went by before we reconnected. Ted and I picked up where we left off–except that age and some maturity caused me to appreciate better just what a helluva guy Ted was. Either I had become more perceptive or Ted's sharp wit had improved. His great patience was still evident. He had become a professor, attempting to push wisdom and reason into young heads full of mush. To do that and still keep a sense of humor was truly amazing!

My wife, Dotty, and I looked forward to seeing Ted each year. Only after his retirement from teaching could we put together the plan to have him and Joanne join us on our boat. We looked forward to his humor, his laughter and his good company. We sit now with the knowledge that all those expectations have just been snatched away. The thought comes that I failed to tell him what a great friend he was to me. I can only hope that he knew.

Ted had that nice balance of a keen mind and a great sense of humor about himself and the world which caused people to like and trust him immediately. He will be missed by all who knew him. Ted leaves behind his former wife, Dona M. Stumm of Jacksonville, FL, and their two sons Randy, San Antonio, TX, James, Lubbock, TX, and four grandchildren.

Ted's remains were cremated, and his interment ceremony [was] at the USAF Academy on October 3, 2008.

(Jerry L. Farquhar, '60)