TED LYLE MALOY
1930-2017
Ted L. Maloy, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army, 87, passed away on September 13th, 2017 due to complications from vascular dementia. He was born and raised in Clinton, Oklahoma to Ted and Bernice Maloy and was a devoted husband, father, brother, and grandfather.
Ted grew up as “Ted, Jr.” with his younger brothers Curtis, Lynn, and Bob. They loved to get into any kind of trouble possible and were very good at it. He spent time at the family farm in Arapaho and summers at the local swimming pool where he was a lifeguard, becoming an accomplished platform and springboard diver. At age 17 after high school, he enlisted in the US Army 45th Infantry Division and was deployed to the Korean War. Having served as a frontline artillery commander and receiving numerous merit awards, he finished his active duty and came back to Oklahoma. He went to college on the GI Bill at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, OK and it was there he met his wife of 62 years, Paula. Soon after their marriage they moved to Ponca City with Conoco Oil, where Ted worked while being active in the 45th Infantry Reserve Guard Unit. They had two children, Mark and Kittie, and during summers the family spent vacations visiting relatives in Oklahoma or in Albuquerque, NM where Ted instructed Army reserve training. In 1974, they transferred to Houston with Conoco where they remained.
He loved being with his family, whether it was rebuilding their classic Ford Mustangs with Mark in the garage or listening to Kittie practice the piano. He helped Mark start his lawn care equipment business and, with Paula, spent many years doing whatever was needed at the shop. He could fix anything and it wasn’t uncommon to find him in the garage at midnight working on a car engine. Retiring from Conoco in 1985 and from the Army reserve in 1990, he stayed active in the Korean War Veterans Association - Lone Star Chapter participating in the Color Guard, representing them at numerous military funerals held at Houston National Cemetery. While he accomplished many things over the years, his life was defined by his military service and it was his proudest achievement. Ted will be loved forever and never forgotten. He endured his long struggle with PTSD and dementia with courage and dignity.
Ted was preceded in death by his wife, Paula, in January 2017 and by his parents and his beloved step-mother, Zella Maloy. He is survived by his brothers Curtis (Treva), Lynn (Louise), Bob Haney (Sharon), brother in law Ron Hensley (Wanda), son Mark Maloy (Dianne), daughter Kittie Gugenheim (Kevin), and grandchildren Eric Maloy (Mimi), Paige Maloy, Chase Gugenheim and Jordan Gugenheim.
Family and friends will gather on Monday, Sept. 25th at American Heritage Funeral Home, 10710 Veteran’s Memorial Drive in Houston, with visitation at 11:30 followed by the service at 12:00. Full military honors will directly follow at Houston National Cemetery.
The family would like to thank the staff at Colonial Oaks Westchase, particularly Elena, Lovely, Dorothy and Augustin for their devoted care over the past year. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Wounded Warrior Project in memory of Ted L. Maloy. Their websites can be found at www.alz.org or www.woundedwarriorproject.org.