August 12, 1930-March 4, 2018
Ted Shonts, age 87,died at home in bed, two weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. Born to Laura & Ray Shonts in Colorado Springs, 5th of 7 children residing at the old homestead his grandfather and father built in 1894.
His wife of 63 years, Izetta, passed away April 26, 2016. Ted is survived by his three children, Ernest T. Shonts, Jr., Harvey D. Shonts and Gezelle Quinn, as well as 8 grandchildren and a multitude of great grandchildren.
Ted graduated from Drennan School, his senior year driving his father's bus route in a Model T. Ted joined the Army directly after high school. He was stationed at Ft. Bliss as an MP then became a Ajax and Hercules missile technician during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He then went into Army Intelligence and was sent to Vietnam for a year. On his return, he was an Intelligence Instructor at Ft. Hollibird, in Maryland for 3 years. In 1971 Ted retired after 20 years in the Army and he and his family returned to Colorado and purchased a piece of the old homestead and with family's help and his own hands, built their current home. They grew their own forest around the house as well. After many years as an appraiser for El Paso County, Ted ran and won office as county assessor. He went on to win two more terms, a total of 12 years as county assessor. Ted Shonts was a true patriot and loved the family land and history. He and his wife traveled a lot in their retirement years. They visited 18 countries and all 50 states.
Visitation Tuesday, March 13, 2018 from 4-8pm. Funeral services will be held Wednesday March 14, 2018 at Swan Law Funeral Directors at 11:00am, 501 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903
