Ted Z. Plaut, 97, of Madison, passed away peacefully on June 3, 2021. Born on March 31, 1924 in Magdeberg, Germany, he was the son of the late Menko and Alice Plaut. Ted lived the last 20 years of his life in Madison. He found great joy in walking his Labradoodle, Wriggley, up and down Main Street. In 1951, he married the love of his life, Eva Elise, who he met in London, England and they immigrated to the US. They spent many happy years together until Eva passed away in 1977.
Ted’s first job in the US was with Transatlantic Airlines in Hartford, CT. In 1955, he was hired by IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY. In the early 1960’s, IBM launched a new family of computing systems and Ted was at the forefront of that revolution. Ted was later promoted as the first worldwide global executive responsible for the emerging software development business. In this capacity, he was responsible for software projects in the US, Netherlands, England, Germany, France, Israel and Japan as well as assisted with the development of the first mainframe – IBM 360. In 1980, IBM loaned Ted to Satellite Business Systems where they launched the first commercial satellite system.
Throughout his life, Ted was an avid horseman, having purchased his first horse at 20 years old. He did trail riding, fox hunting, hunter jumping and dressage. Upon his retirement, he continued riding dressage and in 2005 he became the 34th Centurion rider in the US at the age of 81 with his horse, Vista Gee Whiz. The century ride represents the ultimate test of horse and rider as they must have a combined age of 100 years. When Vista passed away, Ted turned to his love of dogs and got a labradoodle named Wriggley who has been his constant companion throughout the remainder of his life.
Ted will always be remembered for his tireless energy, his mind as sharp as a tack and his true zest for life. He was a friend to many and will be remembered by his friends and family and those in Madison that cheered him on with his infamous big smile, while walking Wriggley.
Ted will be greatly missed by his daughters, Julie Furey (Tom Furey) of Madison, CT, Karen Plaut (David Hoover) of Lafayette, IN and his granddaughter, Laura Furey of New Haven, CT.
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, June 6th, 2021 at 1 pm. You are welcome to join us at Swan Funeral home or watch via livestream at 1 PM. Anyone wishing to watch the livestream can click "Join Livestream" on the righthand side of the box titled "Services" directly underneath this obituary. At 1pm the livestream will automatically begin.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Ted’s name: Donate to the Solve M.E. Double Your Money Challenge! - Solve ME/CFS Initiative (solvecfs.org).
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