Saturday, December 29, 2012

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our wonderful father. He passed away Thursday, December 27th, far too young from a heart attack and cardiac arrest resulting in an anoxic brain injury. He was sailing the ocean blue with Shirley...literally living out his dream and for that, we are so thankful.   We have decided on a celebration of life rather than a traditional funeral believing in our hearts that this is what Dad would have preferred. We invite you to join us this Saturday, January 5th at the Covington Madison's Crystal Ballroom for what we hope will be a beautiful tribute to a life well lived. Event details will be added to this post later this evening.
Thank you in advance for your love and support,
Justin & Libby Ryder
Sara & Tommy Floyd
Shirley Lambert

***Event Details***
The Covington Madison
The Crystal Ballroom
700 Madison Avenue
Covington, Ky. 41011

6 o'clock in the evening until 10 pm
We invite you to come and go as you please within that timeframe. A relaxed version of traditional funeral attire is requested. Children are welcome. All of dad's grandchildren will be in attendance.

As we attempt to represent the life if this beloved man, we have chosen to have cocktails and
hors d'oeuvres along with his favorite... A skyline coney bar. While it will not be a sit down dinner, our hope is that you will come and visit and reminisce about all of the wonderful memories that dad is a part of.

At approximately 6:45pm Justin will give a message of faith.
At 7:15pm Sara will give a eulogy.

Following this, we will have a presentation of memories that are sure to warm your heavy heart.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the address above or if you'd rather, you may donate to a foundation that we will be creating this week that's sole purpose will be to help provide orthotics or prosthetics  for a child who might not otherwise have access to them. Checks should be made payable to The Ted Ryder Memorial Fund and can be deposited at any Fifth Third bank. We will also be making a deposit after the service this weekend if you would rather bring your check to the service on Saturday.

Please leave any questions you may have in the comments below.

11 comments:

  1. Thinking of you and your family during this difficult time. Prayers for you all...

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  2. Judy and I are in Cincinnati this week for her stepfather's funeral. We are flying back to Florida Saturday morning and cannot be here for Ted's memorial. We only knew Ted for a few weeks. We met Ted and Shirl as we traveled the ICW and soon came to enjoy they're sense of adventure and their sense of humour in experiencing the "cruising lifestyle". We had Ted and Shirl over to our boat for dinner one evening while at Vero Beach. We had Skyline chili.... Ted's favorite :-)
    Judy and I have agreed that if there was one thing we could say to Ted it's "Ted, Jimmy Buffett would have been proud to know you". You lived 'The Dream'to the end.
    Sail on sailor.
    Steve&Judy Weisbrod
    s/v Norne Gaest

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  3. Ted, it was a few years ago that you began dating Shirley, my aunt. Until that time, I knew who you were but I didn’t know you. Since that time, I’ve been blessed by your kind heart, your gentle spirit, your desire to laugh and ability to love so openly. Abraham Lincoln once said, “It’s not the years of your life, it’s the life in your years.” Your life was the living example of these words. Your flip-flop wearing, relaxed outlook was infectious to all those around you. That mischievous grin and glint in your eye had everyone in your presence chuckling right along with you when you gave those of us who deserved it, a hard time. Your Jimmy Buffet music and style made us all want to slow down and breath and I’ll never forget the profound gifts you gave to our family. The gifts of strength, courage, love and happiness provided to us simply by the way you lived life. You gave my Aunt Shirley a whole new perspective and outlook. You gave her true love, a belief in herself and what she could accomplish. You gave her strength in the form of “big girl panties” and we are forever thankful for that! Many people walk in and out of your life, but only true friends leave footprints on your heart. Our hearts have been imprinted with an enormous flip flop. Brian and I will never look at another sailboat without remembering how grateful we are for the friendship we shared with you. I’m sure the sun is shining and the waters have never been more beautiful than where you are now. You’ll always be the captain of our hearts.
    Love, Brian and Renae Rossow

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  4. We did not know Ted but we had traded a couple of emails and followed each other's blogs. We were both new cruisers and I always believed that we would hook up at some point over a cold one and tell newbie stories.

    Judy and I are deeply saddened by this terrible turn of events and our thoughts and prayers are with Shirl and Ted's entire family.

    Brian & Judy Wagner
    S/V Sweet Escape

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  5. I have not known Ted my whole life but I feel like he has been around forever. Just knowing how much he loved my mother shirley and took in her grandkids with all the love he had. He showed me, my mother would always be held with love through hard times and fun times. I am so thankful he has been such an influence on all of us. He has been so helpful in talking to my wife and I about are sons heart surguries. Made us understand that you can get through anything with family and love. He will always be missed but never forgotten. Ted was a remarkable man that always put a smile on our faces. And we will smile everytime we talk about those beautiful memories you gave us. So glad you got to live your dream Ted. I will continue to share with friends about a man that helped so many families understand that children are capable of anything. Thank you for the love you gave us. You will always be in our hearts. Love you

    Jerry & Amanda Lambert
    Patience, J IV, Parker

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  6. Sara and family,
    I am so sorry for the loss of your father. I know how hard it is to loose a dad, especially around the holidays. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. May God give you peace and comfort during this difficult time. I will continue to pray for you.
    Sincerely,
    Amanda and Shane Milner

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  7. I am so sorry for your loss and know that Ted will be missed by so many. He was one of those people that truly used the gifts he was given by God to the fullest. He had a true gift as an orthotist and as an educator to many (his patients, coworkers, and others in his field). Ted was very helpful in guiding important decisions for our son Zach from the time Zach was very young until just recently, when Ted retired. Ted was instrumental in helping us get Zach fitted for the walk aide about 1 1/2 years ago. This device has helped our son tremendously. Zach even made his big debut on the news with Ted in the hopes to help other patients just a year ago. Ted had an amazing way of connecting with children and was the best in his field. He will be sorely missed. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

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  8. Shirl- You shared your Erie Canal no bake cookies and Ted was so proud. He spoke of the journey ahead, not the destiny- he spoke of writing your boater blog to inform and assist future boaters, and jokingly said, "Maybe we can be someones guardian angel on the water someday".... We met as strangers, but I have a feeling that we were living the saying, "Be kind to strangers, for unknowingly, many have enterained angels"- Ted was and still is an angel!..... Bob & Vickie Stopper, Lyons, New York

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  9. Ted was one of the greatest people we ever have had the pleasure of meeting. His warm and loving personality showed through the moment we all met him. He instantly felt like family without even trying. He always treated us all like family and always put a smile on everyones faces. He brought so much joy to every occasion and I am so thankful my mother in law Shirley brought him into our lives, for we are all better people for having known him. My daughter Ashlyn once went up to him and said "I love you Aunt Ted" and with no hesitation he laughed and said I love you too, he than become Aunt Ted to us as well, Aslyn always referred to him as that from that point on. Ted will be dearly missed by us but will always be kept alive in memories and smiles. I am so glad Ted was able to live out his dream before God needed him. Thank you Ted for the love and laughter you brought into our lives we will always cherish our memories.

    Josh, Lisa and Ashlyn Lambert

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  10. We never met Ted but we traded some email messages and we looked forward to reading Ted and Shirl's sailing blog daily. The adventures shared there is a dream we have as well. Ted wrote so well and along with the pictures it was the next best thing to being there. So we were concerned when the blog messages recently stopped and we were heart broken when we heard the news. All of you, family and friends, are in our thoughts and prayers.

    David and Mary Lou Reddick
    s/v Evenstar
    Lake Erie

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  11. Ted inspired us every day, and we looked forward to his latest post about his new dream come true ... cruising! We plan on doing the same this year, and Ted was happy to share his thoughts and advice to us in a few emails.

    We are truly saddened by his loss, and our thoughts are with Shirl and his loved ones.

    s/v Nirvana
    Mid-Life Cruising!

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