Ted Kalinowski

Ted Kalinowski, age 77, of Parker, CO passed away on June 7, 2023 after a long battle with prostate cancer, surrounded by his loving family including his wife Cathy on their 45th wedding anniversary.

Ted was born on August 27, 1945 in Broken Bow, Nebraska. He was the third child born to Claudia and Sigmund Kalinowski. He is survived by his siblings Mary (Dave-deceased), Sig (Janet) and Joan (Harold).

He grew up on a farm in Oconto, Nebraska. His family farmed and raised cattle, only getting electricity when he was 6 years old and indoor plumbing at age 21. He didn’t enjoy milking cows but loved growing up on that farm with his loving family.

He graduated from Oconto High School in 1963, then earned a BS in Education from Chadron State College (1968) and a Master’s degree in Math from Kearney State College (1971).

Ted’s passion was travel so after teaching high school in Sargent, Nebraska for two years he moved overseas teaching math and industrial arts in middle and high schools for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS). His assignments took him to Iceland 1971-72, Turkey 1972-74, Okinawa 1974-78 and Ulm, Germany 1978-80.

While in Okinawa he met Cathy, another DODDS teacher. They married on June 7, 1978 after only knowing each other for about 3 months. Together they relocated to Ulm, Germany where their daughter Katie (Ryan) was born and then they moved back to the States, living in Renton, Washington and adding son Thaddeus Jr. (Jenny) to their family.

Ted was a lifelong learner and transitioned careers to computer programming. His first computer programming job was at a bank in Seattle and then the family moved to Denver in 1984. He worked as a Programmer and Systems Analyst for SCL Health for 30 years, working at St. Joseph Hospital and Lutheran Hospital. When he retired in 2015, some of his work friends became his fishing buddies.

Ted is deeply loved by his family and friends. He was quiet, calm and patient but also adventurous, cramming more into one day than anyone probably should. He loved to travel, visiting over 85 different countries. He loved fly fishing, climbing Colorado’s 14ers, skiing, scuba diving, spelunking and gardening.

Most of all, Ted loved his family. His four grandchildren were his special joy - Kylie (9 yrs), Kennedy (7 yrs), Kal (4 yrs) and Lark (2 yrs). And they loved Grandpa Ted, who often took them somewhere fun or just played ball in the yard.

When Ted knew he didn’t have long to live, he said, “Don’t feel sorry for me. I got to do more than I ever dreamed of as a kid. I never thought I would be able to travel to all the places I went to and I didn’t know I’d have such a great family.”