DECATUR
Theodore “Ted” P. Blomenberg, 76, of Decatur, Indiana passed away Thursday, February 11, 2021 at Lutheran Hospital in Ft. Wayne.
Ted was born on July 28, 1944 in Columbus, Indiana, the first of eight children born to the late Gilbert P. Blomenberg and Bertha Marie (Koch) Blomenberg. While living in Columbus he attended St. Peter’s Lutheran School and Columbus High School. In 1960, Ted’s family moved to Seward, Nebraska when his father accepted a call to Concordia Teachers College (now Concordia University). Ted completed his junior and senior years at Concordia High School in Seward, graduating in 1962. He graduated from Concordia Teachers College in 1966 with a B.S. degree in Education.
Ted married Saundra “Sandy” Niedens on June 12, 1966 in Great Bend, Kansas. They then settled in Higginsville, Missouri where they taught at Immanuel Lutheran School for two years.
They relocated to Columbus, Indiana while Ted pursued further education at Indiana University. He finished his graduate studies in Information Systems Technology at IU in August 1975, earning a Doctorate in Education. Dr. Ted then accepted a position at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa) where he was director of the bio-medical Audio-Visual Center and was responsible for developing, documenting and illustrating medical procedures for use as teaching material by faculty of the university’s School of Medicine.
During the 1980’s the family moved to the Blomenberg family farm in Decatur, Indiana. Ted taught briefly at St. Peter’s Lutheran School in Huntington.
Ted was a man of diverse interests and talents. He was interested in Adams and Bartholomew County history, the musical heritage of the Lutheran Church, and genealogy. He also followed special-interest automobiles, enjoyed pipe organ music, and built Lake JamesTed.
Ted had a phenomenal memory. As a result, he was the regular ‘checkpoint’ for facts during Blomenberg family discussions about past events and people (particularly those in Indiana). ‘I’m going to check this out with Ted’ was the typical comment by his siblings. And invariably, Ted would then share corrections as well as additional details for the event being discussed. He will be greatly missed by his family.
Ted will best be remembered for his keen interest and efforts in varied restoration and historical preservation projects. In the late 1980’s he volunteered to help Mennonites in the Berne, Indiana area restore their first church. He traded his labor in an effort to gain access to a vacant precivil war home in the Friedheim area that was the only known surviving home of an Indiana religious pioneer, Pastor Friedrich Conrad Dietrich Wyneken (1810-1876). Wyneken, who served as the second president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, helped found and was the first president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The relocation and restoration of this home became Ted’s labor of love. Ted’s continued and focused efforts led to support from the Indiana German Heritage Society and the formation in 2004 of The Friends of Wyneken (FOW). Ted served many roles within this organization including president. The FOW successfully moved the Wyneken home to its current location on Winchester Road where restoration work continues. The home will be used as an Educational Center to teach about German migration to northeast Indiana, about life on the frontier, and about Pastor Wyneken and Lutheranism, as well as about the house itself.
Ted, a devout Lutheran, valued the history, education and doctrine of the Lutheran church and was a member of the Zion Lutheran Church – Friedheim, where his great-grandfather Rev. C.B. Preuss was pastor for 43 years. His paternal grandparents, M.C. and Esther (Preuss) Blomenberg were also members there for many years.
Ted is survived by his wife of 54 years, Sandy Blomenberg of Decatur, Indiana, son, David Blomenberg of Indianapolis, Indiana; son, Erik (Emily) Blomenberg of Dandridge, Tennessee; daughter, Beth (Scott) McCloskey of Missouri City, Texas; sister, Dr. Paula (Charles Rager) Blomenberg of Seward, Nebraska; brother, John (Susan Ann) Blomenberg of Seward, Nebraska; sister, Rhoda (Dr. Dominick) Toulouse of Seattle, Washington; brother, Dr. Daniel (Deanna) Blomenberg of Norfolk, Nebraska; sister, Andrea (Drew) Woodburn of York, Nebraska; sister-in-law, Janeen Blomenberg of Columbus, Indiana; and four grandchildren, Michael and Joshua Blomenberg and Brandon and Madison McCloskey.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Sarah Blomenberg; and a brother, James Blomenberg.
Private family services will be held with Pastor Daniel Dahling officiating. Burial will follow at Zion Lutheran Cemetery – Friedheim.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to the Friends of Wyneken
( http://friendsofwyneken.org/ ) and sent to Zwick & Jahn (520 N. 2nd St. Decatur, Indiana 46733).
