Theodore Kaye

1918 - 2017

Longtime Northbrook resident Theodore (Ted) Kaye passed away March 24 at Aspen Acres Assisted Living in Hayward, WI. He was 98. When Edens Expressway officially opened in late December 1951, the Dundee Road exit was as far as anyone could drive on the new road. Like many others living in Chicago, Ted and his wife, Dorothy (Dottie), drove to the end of the expressway and discovered Northbrook, which then was a small village of about 4,000. They liked what they saw, and in less than a year had purchased an old house in the middle of town. Many years of remodeling followed for the house with a creek running through the backyard, and Ted became a Northbrook resident for the next 64 years. While Ted and Dottie raised their family in Northbrook, Ted soon left his job in Chicago and began his own television repair business in the growing suburb - Kaye's TV Service, which he operated for about 40 years. However, Ted had another dream that had begun when he was in high school in Michigan: to own a resort. So, in 1961, he purchased Liberty Lodge Resort in Hayward, WI, about 400 miles northwest of Northbrook. From that time on, the Kayes ran Liberty Lodge, which still is owned and operated by the family in a limited way. One of the keys to keeping Liberty Lodge going was the fact that Ted could repair, build or rebuild almost anything on the property. For many years, Ted and Dottie lived half of the year in Northbrook and half of the year in Hayward. From May to October all through the 1960s into the early 2000s, they welcomed dozens and dozens of families - including many from Northbrook - who planned their summer vacations around a week or two at Liberty Lodge. After a while, it was not uncommon for many of those early families' children to bring their own children back to Liberty Lodge. Theodore Walter Kopecko (the family name later was shortened to Kaye) was born Nov. 15, 1918, in Ironwood, MI. As a senior in high school in 1937, he was the captain of the Ironwood team that won the school's first Upper Peninsula basketball championship. He also competed in track and field. Ted always was interested in radio and various aspects of electronics, and after two years of college, he moved to Chicago, where he found a job with Stewart Warner. That also is where he met Dottie, and they married on Feb. 5, 1944. Ted was able to use his electronics knowledge while serving with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II. His family background in speaking Russian and Polish also enabled him to do some translation work for U.S. forces during the war. Ted had returned to Hayward again last year for yet another summer at Spider Lake before moving to Aspen Acres in July. He is survived by Dottie, his wife of 73 years; his son, Daniel (Susan) of Northbrook; two grandchildren, Jeffrey and Kristin, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Dollyne, and his parents, two brothers and three sisters. Ted was the last of his generation in his family. Ted, for many years a Christian Scientist, loved his family, his many friends in the North Woods and in Illinois, fishing in Spider Lake, and Liberty Lodge, which is where his ashes will be scattered. Memorials may be sent to the Spider Chain of Lakes Association, P.O. Box 1082, Hayward, WI 54843.