Theodore August Wiedeman

THEODORE AUGUST WIEDEMAN
One month to the day after the death of his bride, Theodore August Wiedeman, age 87, passed on from this life September 27th after a brief illness. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Visitation Catholic Church, 5141 Main St. in Kansas City on Saturday October 1st at 11:00am. There will be no wake. Interment will be held immediately following the mass at Calvary Cemetery. All who know Ted well envision him greeting the Lord in the same way he took to greeting many of the people he met in recent years: "Are you ready for Teddy?"
Ted was born on January 9, 1929 in Kansas City. He was the second son of Walter Wiedeman and Alice Schweiger Wiedeman, who had four children: Teds older brother John and his younger sisters, Mary Alice and Anne. Ted was married on June 7th, 1952, to Drolette Ann Bradley. Drolette and Ted had seven children: Ted and his wife, Molly; David; Reeves and his wife, Fifi; Alison Ward and her husband, Scott; Kurt and his wife, Kathleen; Rick and his wife, Lorena; and Amy Thompson and her husband, Mark. Ted was preceded in death by his parents, his son David, his siblings John and Anne, and his wife Drolette, upon whose passing he remarked, "That went pretty smoothly. I wish we could do it all over again."
Ted is also survived by 21 grandchildren and three great grandchildren, whom he greatly loved and who greatly loved him back. They include Karen and Rob Long, and their children, Alison and Molly; Becky and Brian Priest; Rosemary Wiedeman; Brian and Arley Ward, and their son, Teddy; David and Brooke Ward; Taylor Ward; Tom, Sam, and Katie Wiedeman; Carolyn, Bradley, and Gregory Wiedeman; Genevieve, Grant, and Gregor Wiedeman; and Addie, Collin, William, Margaux, August, and Mary Jeanne Thompson. Ted is also survived by his sister-in-law, Sylvia (Dainty) Wiedeman, and many nieces and nephews. Since the passing of his beloved wife, Ted is grateful for the deepening of bonds with his children and their families.
Ted graduated from St. Francis Xavier Elementary School and Rockhurst High School. He attended Rockhurst University and graduated from the University of Kansas, where he was a member of Sigma Nu.
From 1952-1954, Ted served in the U.S. Air Force before retiring as a captain. He then began a long career in the family business, Reeves-Wiedeman Company, a plumbing and heating distributor founded in 1887. He served as a director and president of the Mid-America Supply Association, a director of the national American Supply Association, and on the Board of Governors for the ASAs political action committee. Ted retired as vice president and co-chairman of the Reeves-Wiedeman Company in 1994.
Among his community activities Ted volunteered his time to the Christmas in October project, served on the YMCA executive and metro boards, and as the YMCA camp chairman for eight years. He was president of the Rockhurst University Honorary Directors, chairman of the Visitation School Board, and a member of both the Society of Fellows of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Friends of the UMKC Conservatory of Music. He belonged to the Rotary Club of Kansas City, and joined the Carriage Club in 1960, serving on its Board of directors. He most especially enjoyed volunteering at St. Lukes Hospital, where he often worked holidays, including Thanksgiving, when he knew he was more useful there than he was in the kitchen.
Ted, an eagle scout, was an outdoorsman who loved snow skiing and fishing. He especially enjoyed fishing with his grandchildren and a group of buddies known as the Sniderhits (whom youll have to ask one of them to know what that stands for). Teds favorite sport to watch was whichever one happened to be in season. He was a member of the University of Kansas Athletic Departments Williams Fund, and attended many Jayhawks, Royals, and Chiefs games, advising his grandchildren that the proper way to watch the Chiefs was with the television muted, and Len Dawson on the radio. He was an avid model ship builder, and especially enjoyed the meetings of his ship builders club. He has fond memories of a number of friends, especially John Massman, Lloyd Silver, and Todd Johnson.
A lifelong Catholic, Ted was a longtime member of Visitation Church, a vice president of the Serra Club, and a member of the St. Lawrence Center Building Committee. In the 1990s, he was accepted as a papal knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Ted was most appreciative of the bishops, priests, and religious who educated and formed him, nurturing and securing his belief in life eternal with Jesus Christ.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Rockhurst High School, Rockhurst University and St Lukes Foundation.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.muehlebachchapel.com


SERVICES Mass of Christian Burial
Saturday, October 1, 2016 11:00 AM
Visitation Church 5141 Main Street Kansas City, Missouri 64113