|
Theodore M. 'Ted' Hannah Silver Spring, MD QCWA # 8359 Chapter 20 |
 |
HANNAH THEODORE M.
HANNAH June 22, 1927 - January 21, 2018 After a long and full life, longtime Silver Spring resident, Ted Hannah, died peacefully January 21, 2018, at The Village at Rockville, Lutheran Home. Family was present with him as he passed into eternal life. Descended from Finnish and English immigrants, Ted grew up in Seattle, Washington, where radio and electronics sparked his imagination at a young age. As a teenager, he worked fixing jukeboxes, helping to keep the big band sound booming throughout the region. Ted eagerly enlisted in the United States Navy near the end of WW-II and served as a radio operator on Guam. Later, during the Korean War, he served on Adak Island in the Aleutians. At the University of Washington, Ted majored in Russian and Russian Area Studies. There Ted also met Florence, his wife of 35 years. They and her three young daughters moved to Maryland in 1957, when Ted joined the National Security Agency. At NSA, Ted enjoyed his work as a Russian linguist, an inspector in the Inspector General's Office, and as a writer and researcher in cryptologic history. He retired in 1987. Outside work, Ted was active as an amateur radio operator for nearly 70 years. His callsign, as other "hams" knew him, was K3CL. He also collected and restored antique radios, sharing this passion and creating lifelong friendships through the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club. In his retirement, Ted travelled on some epic journeys, most notably a cruise aboard a Russian icebreaker to the North Pole. Then Ted began his second "career". He volunteered at Holy Cross Hospital, working 10-12hr shifts in the Emergency Room. He assisted and comforted patients coming to the ER and trained new volunteers. Ted loved his work at Holy Cross and did this for 25 years, amassing some 32,000 hours of volunteer service. Ted developed an exceptional ability to learn and remember patients' names as he helped them. A devoted Episcopalian, Ted was a charter member of Good Shepherd Church, Silver Spring, serving there as an usher until shortly before his death. His faith sustained him through a rare form of skull cancer, over 15 years ago. The very colorful scarves Ted wore to cover the disfigurement became something of a fashion statement. Ted is survived by his son, Paul (Seattle), and daughters, Gail (Seattle), Lynn and Mary (both of southern California). He is also survived by his close friend, Faye Foote, of Silver Spring. Ted's funeral will be on Friday, February 9 at 11 a.m. at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Silver Spring. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of your choice [] , or to: Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Silver Spring, MD; Holy Cross Health Foundation, Silver Spring, MD or National Capital Radio and Television Museum, Bowie, MD.