Ted Frank Gay

Born in Withee, Wisconsin on August 28, 1934 – the same birth day as his father – Ted was the third son of what would become a family of three boys and two girls. After growing up and working on his family’s dairy farm, Ted went on to attend college at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he majored in Spanish.

Ted then joined the US Army as a Machine Accounting Specialist, where he was stationed in New York and Germany, and received commendation for his rifle marksmanship. While still enlisted, he would lose his left arm, but spent much of his subsequent years surprising dozens of skeptical competitors in halls and bars across America as he’d beat them on the pool table with just his right (and non dominant) arm. After his honorable discharge from the Army, Ted spent a few years living in Monterrey, Mexico, where his love for Mexican food, culture, and Spanish literature grew fervently. He finally settled on the east coast, spending the majority of his remaining years in New England.

He considered his greatest accomplishment in life to be raising his three daughters, all of whom went on to earn graduate degrees, and are in fulfilling careers in speech pathology, law, and social impact consulting, dedicated to advocacy, helping disenfranchised teens, and assisting underserved populations.

He is survived by his three daughters: Jenifer Sari Kelly of Kent, Connecticut, her husband John and daughters Karina Preis and Aria Davis, and granddaughter Suri Bravo; Andra Hutchins of Westwood Massachusetts and her husband Matthew, and daughter Eliana; and Hannah Gay of Denver, Colorado and her partner Brandon Keao; as well as his brother Ervin Gay and wife Judy of Marshall, Wisconsin; his sister Darlene Braun of Palm Desert, California; his sister Shirley Gay of Hartland, Wisconsin; and several nieces and nephews. Ted was predeceased by his parents, Ted and Helen Gay, and his oldest brother, Ernest Gay.

A lover of both music and education, Ted spent much of his life attending concerts with and the performances of his three daughters and granddaughters. Donations can be made in his memory to the Save the Music Foundation at vh1savethemusic.org. A local memorial service will be held in the Gillooly Funeral Home, 126 Walpole Street, Norwood, Massachusetts on Saturday, August 5, 2017 at 11:00 in the morning, followed by a small family gathering in Wisconsin later this month.