Theodore ""Ted"" H. Gremminger

Ted Gremminger March 6, 1930 – February 10, 2015 Ted Gremminger was a man who factored large in the lives of others. From very meager beginnings, born on the ""77 Ranch"" north of Wichita Falls, Texas, Ted's life touched many. He was a hard-working man with conviction, deep in character and full of integrity. He was a ""self-made man"" in that he took responsibility for himself and made his own breaks, but he would probably bristle at that term, as his faith was foremost in his life. He married Kathryn Hartman, his high school sweetheart, on May 16, 1953 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Muenster, Texas. As they left the reception for their honeymoon in Corpus Christi, they said the first rosary of their married life together on the way to the Yucca Hotel. This started a tradition of daily prayer together that they shared until Kathryn's death of breast cancer in 1995. They taped a recording of their own voices saying the rosary, and in this way they continued to pray together every day until his own death. Ted and Kathryn raised their family steeped in this faith, and when Kathryn faced uncertain health issues in 1966, the children were drawn into saying the rosary daily as well. Ted and Kathryn were active parishioners at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Denver and Ted was a 3rd degree member of The Knights of Columbus, joining 65 years ago in 1949. After Vatican II, Ted was asked by Monsignor Heister to be among the first laymen to assist in the Mass at Notre Dame, reading the scriptures and distributing the Eucharist. Ted joined the Air Force January 3rd, 1951 and rose to the rank of Staff Sargent. He was often heard to proudly proclaim he served ""3 years, 11 months and 5 days."" One of the members of his squad recently shared that while stationed at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, others in his squad would enjoy time off together to go into town and have a good time. Ted however would always go back to Muenster to ""visit that girl."" In addition to seeing Kathryn, Ted would work at Fischer's Market butchering meat. Fischer's would schedule their butchering around Ted's time off. He was never unemployed, even in his youth. His first driver's license was a chauffer's license so he could drive the school bus. He not only played offense and defense on the football team he even drove the team bus to away games. After a very successful career with Kraft Foods spanning 36-years, he took early retirement in 1990 to give Kathryn his full-time attention as she battled advancing stages of breast cancer. He was a hard task-master, but was also highly respected for being as fair as he was demanding. He would never ask anyone to do anything he himself would not do, or had not already done. His legacy is the quality of people he hired and groomed to take on larger roles within the company. Kraft was a very big part of what defined Ted in business and he was held in high regard with all those in the grocery industry across the Rocky Mountain Region. He was awarded the Jade ring, the most prestigious honor awarded to an individual employee and Mr. J.L. Kraft collected the jade and fashioned the rings himself. His team won many sales contests for him over the years, and Ted and Kathryn benefited with trips to Hawaii, Hong Kong and China, Paris and Rome and Kenya, as well as a Ford Mustang. They were on their trip to Rome when in 1978 Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II. They had spent the entire time in Rome waiting in St. Peter's Square for white smoke to come from the chimney and were not disappointed as they received John Paul II's first blessing minutes before they had to catch their plane back home. Ted took up golf in his late-30's and it was a pastime he enjoyed until his last round played in the fall of 2013. He loved to walk the course, and carried his own clubs until he turned 80. Once he turned 80 however, he rewarded himself by renting a cart for 9-holes and walking the back-nine. Eventually he would ride the full round of 18-holes. He would play several times a week and often travelled when the opportunity to play elsewhere presented itself. Ted is preceded in death by Kathryn his wife; grandson Joseph Cooney; his parents, Ted and Katie; brother Tommy; and sister Marilyn. He is survived by sister Patsy Schumacher; son, Wayne Gremminger of Littleton, CO; daughter, Kay (Gremminger) Morrow and Randy of Denver and grandchildren Angela, Sarah and Johnny; son, Robert Gremminger and Annemarie of Shawnee, KS and grandchildren Maggie, Lizzie and Anna Gremminger, and Morgan and Brendon Fisch; and daughter, Brenda (Gremminger) Cooney and Carl of Littleton and grandchildren Christian, Kathryn and Kevin Cooney. Ted and Kathryn's history of charitable contributions is legendary, leaving a legacy of benefactors across globe. He specifically requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to his favorite charity, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. John Wagner, a representative of this charity came to Denver just this past January and expressed to Ted personally how he has changed the lives of many people, not only in our nation, but all around the world, evidence by a small church built in Africa and named after Kathryn upon her death. Donations can be mailed to: Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate 9480 N. DeMazenod Drive Belleville, IL 62223 Please visit their website to see the many good ways contributions will be used http://www.oblatesusa.org/