Early on the evening of his death, Ted's wife, Hazel, called me to advise that Ted was not expected to survive the night, and then she called again to advise of his passing. Ted fought a long battle with prostate cancer; when his kidneys stopped functioning, the end came quickly. She reported that Ted was not in pain; although hospice was called 10 days prior to administer whatever painkiller Ted needed, he never asked for such. He was tough to the end.
As Dan Arnold previously relayed to all of us, Ted was the preeminent organizer - with yellow pad at hand. Hazel related tonight that after receiving the last rites last week, Ted instructed Hazel to call a well-known funeral home, with instructions that someone come to the house ASAP. Not ever having received such an unusual request from a "soon to be client" himself, the director personally responded to the call. Ted selected his casket, made arrangements for his body to travel to Florida, negotiated cost, etc. Before leaving, the director begged to ask Ted a question: had he ever been a funeral director?
Ted will be buried in Florida next to his mother and stepfather. At the earlier calling Hazel did not mention a memorial service, but I am certain one will be held in his memory; when known I shall communicate to all.
Hazel has one request of all of us: Please take a moment and send her any stories or anecdotes relating to Ted. She would like to read those items with their daughter, Suzanne, and bind them in a booklet for her grandchildren. Please send these items via fax or mail to the residence:
4907 Sangamore Road, Bethesda, MD 20816 FAX 301-320-0155
Also, please pass along this information to any former colleagues. I shall advise the agency tomorrow, as well as AFIO where he served on its board for a number of years.
Submitted by Art Kim