David Welles

WELLES

David Edwin "Ted"



David Edwin "Ted" Welles of Boulder, Colorado and formerly of Perrysburg, Ohio died on Saturday, October 25, 2014. He was born on November 5, 1979, to Hope (Jones) and David K. Welles Jr. Ted attended Maumee Valley Country Day School from the age of four through graduation in 1998. He attended the University of Oregon and moved to Vail, Colorado in 2003, where he was the head of guest services at the Christiania Hotel. Ted subsequently moved to Boulder, Colorado to pursue his lifelong passion for music.

Ted developed a love of music at a very young age and played in his first band at the age of 13. He played many instruments and sang vocals but his true passion was percussion. He played drummer for many bands in high school and college. His move to Boulder allowed him to pursue this passion more fully and he found his calling as the drummer for The Drunken Hearts, a Boulder based bluegrass group.

Ted was not only passionate about music, but about life in general. His kindness and generosity were known and felt by all who knew him. For ten years, he dedicated much of his free time to volunteering for BeadForLife, a nonprofit organization which combats extreme poverty in communities in Uganda by providing entrepreneurial training and fair trade wages for women who create hand-crafted beaded jewelry. Ted was one of the longest serving volunteers for BeadForLife and one of their all time largest marketers.

Ted also volunteered with an organization for young people called Culture Jam in western Oregon. Culture Jam is a program for youth, ages 14-18, where participants discover their purpose and potential through arts-centered activities. He spent three summers with the program and was well loved by all the participants.

Ted was known by everyone as a funny, thoughtful and deeply compassionate individual. He embraced the world and spread his love by his words, actions and care for all. Ted made friends wherever he went and was truly inspiring to those around him. To acknowledge the way he led his life and in his memory, his family and friends created the "Ted Pledge" so that he would live in our hearts forever and his light in this world would never fade:

Be generous with everything

Give thanks for something every day

Give everyone the benefit of the doubt

Take care of ourselves and each other

Do random acts of kindness

Look everyone in their eyes

Be careful with our grammar

Be proud of our bodily functions

Offer a smile to friends and strangers

Give two-armed hugs with every hello and goodbye

Strive to be the nicest person in the room

Ted is survived by his mother and father; fiancée, Samantha Lipman; sisters, Hope W. Jernagan (Luke) of St. Louis, MO, and Berkley W. Wellstein (Bob) of Chicago, IL; nieces, Hope Jernagan, Maude Jernagan; nephew, William Wellstein; paternal grandmother, Georgia Welles and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

The family suggests memorial contributions to BeadforLife or a charity of the donor's choice.