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Light a Candle
Ted overcame many challenges in his life, rising from the ranks of BOCES special education classes where he graduated without ever having read a book, written an essay, or doing long division, to graduating with a Master’s of Public Administration degree from Binghamton University and nearly completing a Master's of Science degree in Organizational Performance from Boise State. Ted was a self-taught and avid photographer and the walls of our house are covered with his exquisite eye for detail. He loved to make puns and watch irreverent shows like Archer, Family Guy, and South Park. He loved to help people, and as the Home Owner’s Association (HOA) President, was frequently seen painting neighbor’s houses, removing bees, and cutting down branches for our elderly neighbors. Ted was never without a sense of humor or wit. Ted’s love of life included comedians, slam poets, lyricists (Tupac, Eminem, Shane Koyczan). Ted had strong convictions about what it meant to be a genuinely thoughtful and intentionally good person, and he lived those ideals every day. He would publicly denounce people who were racist or homophobic without ever thinking twice, because he innately knew that social injustices remain injustices when people remain silent. He would make an effort to find out what interested the people he cared about, making them feel special and loved. To people around Ted, he was gregarious, funny, and infatuated with his wife. Ted was all of those things, and he also suffered from undisclosed mental health issues. He would frequently talk about how much he overcame to be where he was, and people were in AWE of his dedication to overcoming such insurmountable obstacles.
