Ted Mussenden

1946 - 2020

Edward Cyr "Ted" Mussenden, a devoted grandfather and a showman with a soaring baritone, died on Thursday, June 11, from pancreatic cancer, surrounded by his family at home in Arnold, Maryland. He was 73. Born August 13, 1946 in Portland, Maine, Ted grew up in nearby Bath, a shipbuilding town. As a young man, he worked with his father, William, at the city's shipyard, the Bath Iron Works, and spent summers living in Boothbay Harbor on a boat named after his mother, Mary Ellen. He graduated from Bath's Morse High School in 1965 and the University of Maine in 1970. Ted maintained a deep connection to Maine after moving to Washington, D.C., the city where he met Pam, his wife of 47 years, on a blind date on New Year's Eve in 1971. He wore a blue tuxedo when they married in 1972, and she carried a bouquet of daisies. They had two children, Sean in 1977 and Katie in 1980. The family moved to the Annapolis area in 1979, and Ted became an active member of the community. He attended First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis for four decades, serving as a deacon and a trustee. He lent his singing voice to the church choir and, last year, developed a church safety plan to protect his beloved congregation. He sang with the Annapolis Opera and performed with local community theaters. His family sponsored a dozen midshipmen over the years, offering their home as a respite from the rigors of the U.S. Naval Academy. And he ran a website, USNA-Rent.com, to help families of graduating midshipmen rent homes for Commissioning Week. Ted had a 50-year career in graphic design, market research and sales, working for McKinsey & Company, The (Baltimore) News American, Ryland Homes, Litigation Communications and other firms. In retirement, he worked for Leadership Anne Arundel, a non-profit that develops community leaders, Williams Sonoma and STAIR-Annapolis, a non-profit that tutors second-graders in reading. With his wife, Ted saw hundreds of Broadway shows and visited more than two dozen countries. He loved to hike, and had been slowly section-hiking the Appalachian Trail. He was an accomplished woodworker, a stained-glass artist and a builder of exquisitely-detailed model ships. He looked forward to lobsters on Thanksgiving, puzzles at Christmas and, always, bread pudding for dessert. More than anything, he loved spending time with his family, especially his 9-year-old granddaughter, Madeline. Three days before he died, he called her "my glory, my sunshine, my lasting hope for a very bright future." She called him Pop-Pop. Ted is predeceased by his father, William Mussenden and his mother, Mary Ellen Mussenden. He is survived by his wife, Pam Mussenden; his daughter, Katie Holquist, son-in-law Doyle Holquist, and granddaughter Madeline Holquist; his son, Sean Mussenden and daughter-in-law Julie Seiwell; his brothers Bill Mussenden and Chris Mussenden; and several nieces and nephews. A celebration of life service will be scheduled at First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis after the expiration of COVID restrictions, so that the service can include joyous singing by the choir. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent in his name to First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis (www.annapolis-presbyterian.com/give) or Hospice of the Chesapeake (hospicechesapeake.org/giving).