Theodore Ossip Thatcher

Theodore Ossip Thatcher, 97, passed away November 23, 2007, at his home in River Heights of causes incident to age.

Ted was born May 3, 1910, in Ogden, Utah, to Franklin Davis Thatcher and Hannah Mathews Thatcher. Ted’s earliest years included living in Ogden and Sandy before the family returned to Cache Valley. He lived in River Heights from the age of 12, and in 1929, he graduated from North Cache High School, where his father taught wood shop.

Ted attended Utah Agricultural College from 1929 to 1935 and earned a bachelor’s degree in botany and entomology, then a master’s in entomology. In 1936 he went to work for the National Park Service as the first full-time ranger at Lehman Caves National Monument, now part of Great Basin National Park. While there, he set up the first official weather reporting station in eastern Nevada and later received an award from the National Weather Service for it.

He married Zella Wood, daughter of J. Karl Wood and Phebe Ricks Wood, on June 21, 1938, in the Logan LDS temple. They spent their first two years living at Lehman Caves and loved being out in the wilderness together.

Having been in ROTC throughout his college years, he was called up to active duty in the Army in January 1941, leaving his wife and young daughter Evelyn in Utah, and served three years in Europe commanding an anti-aircraft battery. Upon his return, he used the GI Bill to earn his Ph.D. in entomology from the University of California at Berkeley.

He was hired by Colorado State University’s Entomology Department in 1949, and he taught there until his retirement in 1973, when he and Zella moved back to River Heights to look after his aging mother. In 1961, he interrupted his teaching at CSU to take a contract with USAID in Peshawar, Pakistan, where he was an advisor at Peshawar University, helping to develop a science curriculum there. With his native intellectual curiosity about the world, this experience was wonderful for him and for his family, and they made many friends in Pakistan. In his retirement, he continued to love working with insects, and he took several overseas contracts to assist people with grain storage issues in Senegal, Kenya, and Pakistan.

Ted was always interested in the world around him. He loved nature and enjoyed teaching people about plants and animals until his death. He particularly enjoyed showing children how to identify and collect insects. He also loved the arts and bought season tickets at the opera until his health would no longer permit it. Science and technology also interested him, and he took an interest in computers and other modern technology well into his 90s.

Ted joined the LDS Church in 1938 and had a testimony of it throughout his life. He served in numerous ward and stake positions, including in a bishopric, a high council, and as stake librarian.

Ted was preceded in death by his wife Zella in 1995 and daughter Evelyn in 2001. He is survived by his daughter Elaine of River Heights and his son Bruce F. (Laura) of Orem.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 in the Providence Stake Center, 800 South 600 East in River Heights. A viewing will be held prior to services at the church from 9:00 to 10:30 AM. Interment will be in the Providence City Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.allenmortuaries.net .