Ted Gronlund, a former executive in the premium kitchen cabinetry industry, passed away on June 15, 2023, in his home in Naples, Florida. He was 84 years old. From the beginning Ted’s extroverted personality and extraordinary sense of humor were enjoyed by so many, which resulted in lifelong friendships.

Ted was born in the Norwegian Hospital in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn on April 4, 1939, the first of four children of Theodore Oscar and Alice Olsen Gronlund. In 1949 the Gronlund family moved to Pelham Manor, NY and Teddy graduated from Pelham Memorial High School in 1956. He was bigger then and played varsity football. Hefty and slow, his teammates affectionately nicknamed, “Twinkle Toes”. His classmates recognized and enjoyed his outgoing, engaging personality and relentless wit, voting him the most “talkative” in his class, along with Judy Lorenz, twin sister of Brian Lorenz, who was a close friend since 6th grade when both families moved to Pelham Manor.

Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA was the next stop for Teddy, and he soon became a popular member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He had a passion for music, from Broadway shows to the Kingston Trio to early 50’s rock ‘n roll. This led to his job at the college radio station, WVBU, using that memorable disk jockey radio call name, “Dead Ted, the Mad Daddy-O”.

After graduation in 1960, Teddy joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Ft. Knox for 2 years. He and his buddy there, Archie Bresnick, were credited with completely re-designing the Army’s training program for tank soldiers, admittedly to find more time for golf. After an honorable discharge, he briefly worked as a tour guide at Freedom Land in the Bronx and then found a job in sales for the New York radio station, WNBC.

Teddy’s friendly, effusive demeanor was a perfect fit for sales, and the “Big Apple” became the ideal venue for his adaptation to the “swinging 60’s” lifestyle. He joined the University Club in NYC, became a member of the Pelham Country Club to pursue his love for golf, and shared a beach house in Westhampton, LI with other carefree bachelors. Ted and Archie became roommates and soon developed a well-deserved reputation as the happy-go-lucky, spirited “bon vivants” in Manhattan.

Ted’s father was an original founder of Wood-Metal Industries in 1938 (later renamed Wood-Mode) in Kreamer, PA, plus the T.O. Gronlund Company, Inc. in New York City, as a related manufacturer’s rep organization for Wood-Mode covering the Tri-State NY Metro market. In 1964 Teddy joined his father’s NY-based company as a sales manager, and after Ted Sr. passed away in 1966, became President of T.O. Gronlund Co. Teddy subsequently served on the Wood-Mode Board. His outgoing personality, as well as his ability to remember the names of employees and customers, plus their spouses and children, made him a very popular and successful sales rep.

In 1971 Ted married Irmtraud (Sherry) Schuermann originally from Hanover, Germany, whom he met in Manhattan 2 years earlier. They divorced in 1987, and he later met and married Cathy Betz in 1994. After living in New York City, they moved to a townhouse at the St. Andrews Club in Hastings-on-Hudson in 1994 where he could focus on golf and a new set of social buddies. By this time Cathy had become an avid golfer as well, and they decided to build a luxury house in 2003 in a new gated golf community in North Naples, FL, the Club at Mediterra.

Teddy and Cathy sold their St. Andrews home in 2010 to settle full-time into an active life of golf and more fun at Mediterra. Perhaps the most memorable quality of Ted’s legacy is the enduring friendships that carried him through life, sustained by constant communications usually filled with naughty jokes. Brian Lorenz, his best friend from high school, and Archie Bresnick from the Army both moved to Florida and stayed in close touch with Teddy. Then there were the “winos,” friends from his days at Ft. Knox – Archie, Denny Cox (a fraternity brother from Bucknell) and Charlie Henley, who would all get together every year and reminisce about the old days.

Teddy was a huge fan of the NY Giants, going to almost every football game beginning in the late 1950s at Yankee Stadium, Yale Bowl and Giant Stadium in NJ. Originally a fanatical Brooklyn Dodger fan, he switched his loyalty to the NY Mets when the Dodgers moved to L.A.

Although Teddy never had children (he did consider his pet dogs “his kids” however), he was very close to his family which started with his fondest companion and love, his wife Cathy. His brother Robert and sister Cookie both worked with Teddy at the family business, Robert as Chairman and CEO of Wood Mode, and Cookie as the P.R. manager at T.O. Gronlund. While Teddy demanded and enjoyed the “good life,” his brother Jay was quite different in his tastes and career, more “outdoorsy”, academic, and adventurist. When referring to Jay, he always joked “it must have been the milkman…” Teddy also treasured his fervent relationship with his nephews and nieces, Brooks, Stacie and Geoff from Robert and Dede, and Melissa and Peter from Jay and May-Lis. He always tried to attend every birthday, wedding or graduation. Although he was physically very limited, he even pushed himself for a last trip outside Florida to attend Peter and Joy’s wedding in New York in September 2021.

A particular accomplishment that Teddy was very proud of was his conquest of his alcohol abuse disease which he suffered for over a decade. In 2019 Teddy and Cathy designated an estate gift to support Bucknell’s counseling center’s addiction services, the Gronlund Family Fund, which will fund substance abuse prevention, education and recovery programs. Teddy said “We have seen how addiction can be misunderstood and the destruction it can bring to young lives. We wanted to have somewhere for the students to turn to if they needed help.”

Teddy will be remembered for his extraordinary generosity (he loved to tip, big time!), his love and devotion to his unconditionally supportive wife Cathy, his genuine gregarious nature, a big smile that honestly showed his zest for life and caring for others, his passion for friendships and his distinctive, ever-present sense of humor and quick wit that made everyone laugh and love him even more.

Teddy is predeceased by his parents, Alice and Theodore Gronlund, his sister Alison “Cookie” Gronlund, and his brother Robert Gronlund. In addition to his wife, Cathy, he is survived by his brother Jay and wife May-Lis, Robert’s wife Dede and their children Brooks (Amy), Stacie (Randall), Geoff (Angelina), and Jay’s children, Melissa (Chris) and Peter (Joy).

A celebration of life service will be held in Florida at a later date and a private ceremony at the columbarium at Huguenot Church in Pelham Manor in the near future.

To sign his guest register or to leave online condolences please visit www.ShikanyFuneralHome.com.

Arrangements are being handled by Shikany’s Bonita Funeral Home Family Owned and Operated Since 1978.

This obituary was provided by Shikany’s Bonita Funeral Home.