Theodore Conterio

Theodore Vincent Conterio passed away on November 8, 2017. He died of natural causes due to age. At his side was his dear wife and companion, Vivian. Ted was born in Chicago on August 29, 1925. He is preceded in death by his father, James Conterio (who emigrated from northern Italy as a boy), and his mother Louise Baumgartner of German descent. Also preceding him were his two younger brothers, Eugene and William Conterio. William passed away in August of this year. Ted leaves behind his loving wife, Vivian Conterio of Plano TX; his son Paul Conterio (Ashlee) of Orem UT; daughters Karen Conterio and Kim Downes (Patrick) all of Plano TX.

James Conterio was a stern father, especially harsh with his eldest son, Ted. But those were harsh times when Ted grew up in the Great Depression. Fortunately for Ted, his mother and grandmother (Granny) gave him the loving support he needed. Their family, like so many of that day, was plagued with poverty. Ted would tell the story of walking along the railroad tracks as a boy with his Uncle Ed during cold Chicago winters to gather coal that fell from passing locomotives. The found coal was used to heat their small home.

After the Depression came World War II. Ted was drafted in his senior year of high school. His high testing abilities allowed him to choose how he wished to serve, and in which military branch. He wanted to fly, and did so with the Eighth Air Force in Europe 1944-45. He became the flight engineer and the top gunner of a bombing crew for a B-17. In battle, Ted saw the first German jets up close. His guns could not turn fast enough to keep up with them as they flew by. Among the missions Ted participated in were the controversial February 1945 bombing of Dresden, and the April bombing of the Skoda Armament plant at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. After the European conflict Ted was chosen to be the personal flight engineer for a Colonel charged with the assignment to photograph the European terrain from the air in the event of future wars.

Ted learned to work hard at a very early age. He discovered as a young man that he enjoyed work that challenged his mind more than his body. So when the war was over for him, he attended the University of Illinois earning a Masters degree in philosophy and ethics. He ran cross country for the University, and worked construction to pay for his own education. His job was hauling trays of wet concrete on his shoulders up ladders to the tops of buildings. Ted loved to study! He loved to read! He loved to teach! He loved the library! He loved to take tests! He loved long walks! And he loved to talk about ideas on religion, philosophy, history and science.

Later when Ted was applying for a management trainee job at Allstate Insurance, he was asked by the hiring manager, “A Master’s degree in philosophy? What good is that going to do you?” Ted answered, “It taught me to think logically.” They hired him. It was at Allstate he met and married Virginia Verburg in 1955. They had 3 children, Paul, Karen, and Kim. While at Allstate, Ted saw an open position for a computer programmer. He expressed interest in the job, and was given a manual to study. He taught himself to program. That was the start of a successful 30-year career in computer systems, eventually leaving Allstate to set up the first mainframe computer at Underwriter's Laboratories in Northbrook, Illinois, where he managed the large department until he retired.

Throughout his life Ted quietly performed many acts of kindness to those in need and the less fortunate. Most will never be known. He learned compassion from his grandmother, Eugenia, who many times took him with her on the train to the poorest parts of Chicago to give what money she’d managed to save to families even more desperate than their own.

Ted’s mind remained sharp to the end. He is now on the other side with his loved ones who went before. Knowing Ted, it won’t be long before he breaks away and asks, “Where can I find Heaven’s library?”