Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Theodore Harrison SUPPLEE
Ted Supplee embraced life with open arms and fully enjoyed an adventurous and amazing 92 years.
Ted was born at the start of the "Roaring Twenties" to Margaret Harrison Supplee and Earl Cornog Supplee of West Chester, Pa. The eldest of three children, Ted relished his boyhood in rural Chester County. School was downright boring to Ted, but at an early age he developed a strong interest in ham radio. At the age 12 he became one of the youngest licensed amateur radio operators; his call letters until the end were W3GGM.
Ted's expertise in radio communications served him well when he entered the Merchant Marines as an officer in 1943. His first ship, the Edwin Christenson, was so slow on its initial voyage that it couldn't keep up with the convoy steaming out of New York. A German submarine attack seemed inevitable for the straggling vessel, however Ted radioed a sister ship that offered to stay with the Edwin Christenson through the night, until both were safely at sea.
World War II took Ted to many ports of call, including Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Port Elizabeth, and Singapore. Ted's log contains standard World War II stories, such as when a torpedo hit his ship (it was a dud!), as well as recountings of enjoyable leave time, playing tennis, sailing, and swimming.
After the war Ted became a Radio Officer with TWA. Based in Cairo, he was smitten by a TWA Hostess, Corrine Olson, during a flight to Paris. It was love at first sight! Ted quickly gave up his Cairo post and transferred to New York, where Corrine was based.
After a brief courtship, Ted and Corrine were married in May 1949. Soon after, on a visit to Corrine's parents in Sioux City, Iowa, Ted tasted Dairy Queen for the first time. "We've got to bring this to Pennsylvania!" he said, and Ted and Corrine started up a DQ franchise – the first on the East Coast. Two daughters followed shortly, Kate and Pat.
The Supplees enjoyed life on the family farm and, in 1961 when real estate prices fell in the aftermath of Hurricane Esther, they purchased a shore place in Ocean City, N.J. The shore provided many fun times for the Supplees and their relatives and friends, including boardwalk strolls, beach time, and fishing trips aboard Ted's Grady White, the "Patty Kate."
In keeping with the family tradition of a winter trip to the Florida Keys, in 1991 the Supplees built a home in Key Colony Beach, Fla., with Pat as architect and Kate as landscape architect. Lots of reef fish were caught from the Patty Kate!
Always an adventure-lover, Ted held licenses as both a private plane pilot and a hot air balloon pilot. His balloon, The Rainbow, took friends and family high above the rolling farmland of Pennsylvania. One of Ted's most exciting trips was a flight over the Alps, from Switzerland to Italy, in a helium balloon in 1980. Ted last piloted a private plane out of the Missoula, Montana airport in 2005.
Ted always felt that a great life was there for the taking, and he lived life to the fullest until the very end. He was in the process of purchasing a new car and new Mac computer when he passed away suddenly during a visit to his daughters. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with calm winds – ideal conditions for Ted's last flight. Ted passed away peacefully with his family by his side. He will be very dearly missed.
Survivors include Ted's wife, Corrine, daughters Kate (Rich Hamma) and Pat (Keith Niederman), grandson Sam, brother Earl and his children and grandchildren, cherished extended family on Corrine's side, and many good friends including best friend Tom Reed.
Ted was born on June 26, 1920 and died on Aug. 18, 2012.
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