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Here is Ted's obituary, followed by two previous personal letters to us.
Obituary
The Philadelphia Inquirer
July 7, 2016
Edward O. "Ted" Shakespeare, 92, of Roxborough, a World War II Army medic and a schoolteacher who loved drama and the theater, died Saturday, July 2, of a stroke at his home in the retirement community of Cathedral Village.
Raised in Wynnewood, Mr. Shakespeare graduated from Lower Merion High School and briefly attended Cornell University before enlisting in the Army in 1943. A frontline medic during the war, he was wounded in battle while serving with the 95th Infantry Division in Germany. Mr. Shakespeare's left arm had to be amputated.
David Shakespeare said his father's difficult war experiences shaped his strong character.
"It was his incredible willpower that allowed him to survive on the battlefield in Germany," his son said.
Mr. Shakespeare's battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for action in the Battle of Metz. After the war ended, he married his first wife, Sarah Lowry, and returned to finish his studies at Haverford College. There, he was able to pursue his love of drama, instilled at an early age by his parents.
His wife, with whom he had three sons, passed away in 1983; in 1985 he married Shirley "Skip" Mason, who recalled their first meeting at a production of King Lear, hosted by Bryn Mawr and Haverford.
"He tried out for the role of Gloucester, but he had such a wonderful voice that he earned the main role of King Lear," said his wife. "I had seen a lot of versions of the play, but never a better King Lear in my life."
His sons added that their father's love for theater was apparent in their yearly family trips to see Shakespeare plays in Stratford, Ontario. Despite Mr. Shakespeare's iconic last name and his love for theater, his son David said that the family was never able to confirm any familial connection with the playwright.
After earning his M.A. in embryology and histology from Cornell in 1950, Mr. Shakespeare began his lifelong teaching career. At the William Penn Charter School, he headed the English department and introduced a drama program. He also taught at several Main Line schools, including Friends' Central School and the Baldwin School. During this time, he was head of the English committee of the National Association of Independent Schools.
Friends and family described Mr. Shakespeare as a "born teacher" who engaged his students in the subject material. He was particularly devoted to his theater classes, said his son John, and he would often stay up until 3 a.m., playing back his recording of a rehearsal that had taken place earlier in the day.
"In our small house, you could hear the echoing of the voices on the tape recorder in the middle of the night — he was truly dedicated to his work," John Shakespeare said.
Family members described Mr. Shakespeare as an honest and upright man who was able to overcome the many difficulties he was faced with.
"Ted lost a dad, a limb, a wife, and a son, and rose above it all to live a life of optimism and conviction," said a niece, Hannah Shakespeare.
In addition to his wife and his sons, he is survived by two stepchildren, Sam Mason and Evan Beeney, and one brother, Charley. His first wife, Sarah, and a son, Edward IV, predeceased him.
A memorial service will be in October at Cathedral Village, 600 E. Cathedral Road, Philadelphia. For more information regarding the date, friends may contact 978-620-0214.
Contributions may be made to Haverford College, Delaware Valley Friends School, or Green Tree School & Services.
In early 2010 Ted sent us the following thoughts about his career at Penn
Charter and its aftermath. His book Understanding the Essay,
mentioned below, was published in 1966 and used copies are still available
through Amazon.
"I came to Penn Charter in 1958 from W. B. Saunders Co., medical and
science publisher, where I was a copy editor. Jack Gummere offered to
match that salary as a PC English teacher (JFG was secretive and grossly
unjust about faculty salaries). During my 13 years at PC I was head of
the English department from 1961-1966, directed dramatics from
1961-1971, headed the faculty curriculum committee, and with two
colleagues published Understanding the Essay, which went into
three editions.
"My mentors at PC were Lou Connick and Fritz Kempner, who honed my
teaching skills and introduced me to new and revolutionary
understandings of English grammar. The 13 years at PC were my most
productive, during which I strengthened the English department and
directed large-cast full-length serious dramas and, for assemblies, many
experimental one-acts. In 1970 my Overseer-appointed committee
recommended, to no avail at that time, that PC become coeducational. I
was known as a "prickly" critic of the establishment, and this
reputation deservedly followed me for the rest of my teaching years in
several other schools.
"Widowed and remarried, I now live at Cathedral Village, a retirement
community where I founded a thriving continuing-education program. I
look back fondly on the PC class of '60, which I think of as a superior
class."
Ted came to our 50th Reunion in 2010, and afterwards sent Sam Francis and
his wife Bobbie (aka "Roberta") the following letter:
Dear Sam,
A belated thank you for your hospitality, the hospitality of the
entire Class of 1960, and for all the work that went into making your
reunion such a triumph. It was a pleasure for me to see again the
students I once had in my classes and/or in some one-acts I directed.
And now seeing them, as having been productive members of the adult
world, close to retirement! Jock Deasey was a delightful host at our
dinner table, who made the conversation flow and whom my wife Skip found
especially entertaining. All your classmates, and you too, looked
remarkably fit and reminded me of how impressed by them and you I was
many years ago.
I'm glad I had a few moments to meet Roberta and later to talk with
her about theater. Maybe we can sometime get together with the New
Jersey Shakespeare. And wasn't the production of "Cox and Box" fun! I
had spent much of Thursday and Friday at Penn Charter, in that
magnificent new auditorium, watching Picardo and Barker and Ziegler
rehearsing to the accompaniment of a pianist who, it turns out, had been
hired from outside for the occasion (Jack Rogers and PC staff went to
endless trouble to facilitate the production, as they certainly did for
your class and other reunions).
Many thanks, and fond wishes to you and Roberta for good health and
happiness in this troubled world.
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