Theodore Willard Case III

Theodore Willard Case III died peacefully on June 2, 2024, at Duke Hospice in Durham, North Carolina. He was 77 years old.

Born on February 21, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Ted was the son of the late Susan Violet and Theodore Willard Case Jr. He was the brother of Peter Case, the late Nusza Woyda, and the late Susan Sciarretta.

Ted graduated from Joel Barlow High School in Redding, Connecticut, in 1965, where he played quarterback on the football team, ran track, and played basketball. He then studied English at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and continued playing football as quarterback and punter until an injury ended his career after his sophomore year. He was inducted into Joel Barlow's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016 and was described by his football coach as "the most outstanding athlete [he] has ever coached."

After college, Ted, a lifelong entrepreneur, spent the next 25 years opening and operating Mexican restaurants throughout New England. He owned Old Mexico in Hyannis, Massachusetts, and later Chaps Mexican Restaurant in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Ted was the husband of the late Rosina Landis Case. Rose, the love of his life, was the first waitress he hired at Old Mexico on Cape Cod. They later married and moved their growing family to Wallingford, Connecticut, where they raised their four daughters. Ted and Rosina were married for 23 years and worked side by side throughout their life together.

In 1995, they relocated to the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, where Ted launched Expanding Dynamics, a business development company. Ted worked with leaders and entrepreneurial teams in the areas of mindset and the creative process. In 2011, Ted moved back to the East Coast to be closer to his family. He settled in Mebane, North Carolina, where he found coaching and training entrepreneurs in both business and personal development deeply satisfying.

He spent the last two years writing his memoir, "How Should We Think About This?" which was published and printed just before he died.

Always a deep and brilliant thinker, Ted will be remembered for his gentle spirit, athletic prowess, love of and respect for nature, family-centered values, and simple way of life. He played tennis and pick-up basketball into his 70s, enjoyed spending time with cherished friends, sang and played the guitar at family gatherings, was always up for an adventure or new experience, and loved sitting by the fire, taking walks, and being by the ocean.

Ted was the loving father of the late Tiffany Rice, Kristianna Clyatt and her husband, Ramsey, Abigail Fitzgerald and her husband, Chris, and Juliet Kaplan and her husband, Seth; the proud grandfather of Jennifer Rice, Sophie Lavallee, Hazel and Case Kaplan, Miles, Arlo, and Jesse Fitzgerald, and Clay, MacKenzie, and Regan Clyatt; the adoring great-grandfather of Karter Theodore Ramirez; and uncle to many nieces and nephews.

Ted's family is planning to celebrate his life in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on Sunday, June 23. For more information, please contact Kristianna at kristianna.case@gmail.com. A memorial service in Auburn, New York, will be held at a later date.

In honor of Ted's lifelong fascination with space exploration, gifts in his memory may be made to Space for Humanity, 4845 Pearl East Cir Ste 118 PMB 41754, Boulder, Colorado 80301-6112.