Theodore Tormaschy

Ted resided for most of his life in Dickinson, ND.  His father, Roger, passed away when Ted was 37 years old.  He lived with his mother, Elsie Tormaschy.  Ted worked in the family home construction business in the late 70’s through the 80’s.  Ted and his mother relocated to Madison, WI in December, 2020 to spend more time with his brother, Kelly.  Ted was known for four traits and they all involved fun.

1)  Ted developed a repertoire of impersonations.  His inspiration was 70’s impersonation phenom Rich Little.  When guests attended his parents’ home, there was a small portion of the evening when Ted put on a show of 20-25 impersonations.  It was always hysterical.  He would frequently be stopped in the halls of high school and would have to do John Wayne, Flip Wilson, Jimmy Stewart and others.

2)  Ted’s father, Roger, taught him several chords on acoustic guitar.  Over a year, Ted saved $20 in coins, rolled them, and used the money to purchase a Gibson guitar from his uncle Gary.  He developed proper finger positioning by participating in 2-3 hour jam sessions with extended family sing-a-longs.  Ted was a life-long Johnny Cash fan and got to see him perform in three shows.  When guests arrived at the family home, the half hour of entertainment transitioned from impersonations to a Johnny Cash karaoke as Ted played guitar.

3)  Ted loved conversation and he became a great storyteller.  Those stories centered around the important people in his life and they were always interesting:

• his broken arm from falling off a barrel racing horse and the high speed delivery to ER in the back seat of his uncle Lee’s Chevy Impala,
• having too much beer on a college visit to his brother and doing impressions in the dormitory hallway for the wing residents well past midnight,
• the time when his little bro at the age of 10 drove grandpa’s car into grandma’s pepper patch,
• convincing the neighborhood kids to paint up their own wagons and have a wagon demolition derby,
• bringing his Moped in for a 1 year tune-up and the tech responding, “I’ve never seen this many miles put on a Moped in one year”,
• riding down the water tower hill on a corrugated tin toboggan made by his grandpa, hanging on for dear life and leaving everyone in his wake, … and countless more.

4)  Most recently, routinely checking in with extended family and close friends by way of telephone every several days.

Ted entered this life on January 9, 1959 cradled in the arms of his mother.  And Ted left this world behind on August 11, 2021, cradled in the arms of his mother.  He was 62 years old.  Their love, loyalty and commitment to each other spanned a lifetime and was unsurpassed.  Ted will be welcomed home by his loving father, Roger Tormaschy, and grandparents George & Barbara Messmer, Matt & Eva Tormaschy, who passed before him.

As an alternative to floral arrangements, a donation can be made to the Fragile X Foundation in the name of Ted Tormaschy.  It is the wish of Ted’s mother to have a formal joint funeral service after her passing in their hometown of Dickinson, ND at St Joseph’s Church.  After that, both their urns will be placed in the vault of Ted’s father, Elsie’s husband, and the three will be reunited forever.  Until that day arrives, Elsie will reside at The Jefferson, a community exclusively for seniors, 9401 Old Sauk Rd, #122, Middleton WI 53562.

The family wishes to express gratitude to all those who have been so supportive in this difficult moment.