Ted Castro

Ted was born on November 7, 1938, in Redlands, California and grew up in Mentone, California. He attended Redlands High School and graduated in 1956. During high school, Ted played trumpet in his high school jazz combo and sang in the Redlands High School choir where he got to perform on the opening day of Disneyland on July 17, 1955. After graduating high school, he married his high school sweetheart, Carolynn Wooley, and began work at Grand Central Rocket (now Lockheed Martin). Ted and Carolynn had 4 children.

Following a divorce, Ted married Walta “Su” Shipman in 1970. The two eventually relocated to Livermore, California, when Ted was transferred to Lockheed’s Sunnyvale headquarters. There, Ted, and Su welcomed two daughters, Kate and Sarah. Their daughter Kate passed from a heart condition in 1976 just a few months short of her third birthday.

Ted’s love of live music, the outdoors, and the “finer things in life” were well suited to Bay Area living. Ted remained in Northern California where he went on to marry Lisa Craft. Ted spent the majority of his time working at Lockheed while spending as much time as possible backpacking, camping in the High Sierras; playing golf, falling more in love with jazz by enjoying a great deal of live music; staying a steadfast fan of the LA Dodgers despite his Bay Area address; and watching his kids grow and start families of their own

In 1997 at age 59, after 41 years of service, Ted retired from Lockheed and relocated to Southern California. There, he helped his brother Don care for their mother Dorothy, who at almost 90 years old still resided in their Mentone childhood home. Ted also made one of his longtime dreams come true by purchasing a home right on the golf course in the Sun Lakes community in Banning, California.

Ted continued to savor the very best things in life: family, golf, the Dodgers, music, the great outdoors, and good food and wine best enjoyed with loved ones. He also reconnected with his second wife, Su Shipman, and the two remarried in 2010.

He leaves his wife, Su Castro; his younger brother, Donald Castro; his five surviving children: Ted Castro IV, Sandi Craw, Jerry Castro, Elizabeth Nunn, and Sarah Davenport; as well as his surviving grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family finds peace knowing that Ted is reunited with his daughter, Kate; his parents, uncles, aunts; his best friends, Roger and Mickey; and his three grandchildren, Cory, Jeff, and Teddy, who were taken much too soon.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.weaver-mortuary.com for the Castro family.