Tadeusz Sumara

Tadeusz “Ted” Andro Sumara

90, a veteran of World War II, and longtime resident of Lowell Indiana passed away on February 22, 2019.  Ted was a private man about many things.  If you wanted to know his cause of death, he would have told you it was none of your business or made up a smart answer. If you asked Jacquelyn, his beloved wife, she would have told you liver cancer but not to tell anyone. Although his prognosis was not good, he battled on telling everyone within earshot that he was not dying.

He was born November 27, 1928 in East Chicago Indiana to Stanislawa Mary Grzych and Jan Marcin Sumara.  He was one of seven children and worked in the family’s Polish grocery store and the neighborhood Polish bakery. His first language was Polish and he was able to converse in 7 languages.

Having lied about his age and gotten his mother to sign the papers, he followed his older brothers into the US Navy and served from 1946 to April 1948.  He was an aviation metal smith, 2nd Class Seaman.  He was stationed at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.  He received his GED in 1948

He had many jobs after the Navy until 1954. He worked at Edward Valve Company, Superheater Company, Boule Plant, and Inland Steel as an Iron Worker.  Attending Indiana University on the GI Bill, he graduated in 1954 in Elementary Education.  He obtained his Master’s in Education in 1964

He taught school in San Diego CA at Euclid, Gary Indiana at Lincoln School, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Gallop NM at Ft Defiance, Cedar Lake Indiana, Japan in Zama and Sagamihara, and Aschaffenburg Germany.  He received countless teaching awards and retired in 1991 from the Merrillville School System.  Even at the age of 90, he was receiving facebook posts from many of his former “better” students.  He was a member of the American Legion and Polish National Alliance where he loved to dance, play bingo and drink.  He was a recognized artist for the State of Indiana for Pisanki.  He loved the arts and was very skilled at Pisaki, Wydmuszki, and Origami.  He taught himself to play piano and the concertina and was very good at both.  Having a great love of travel, he had been to most of the 50 states and many countries within Europe and Asia.  He had a great love of gambling and Las Vegas.  He loved to cook, attend various ethnic festivals including Pierogi Fest and go to any antique fair he could find.  He was married to his wife Jacquelyn in July of 1962.  He is survived by his wife Jacquelyn Lee Cary Sumara, his daughters Stasia (Fernando) Gomez, and Rachel (Ted) Miles, his sister Wanda Terrana, granddaughters Amanda Benham, Sophie Marshall and Alina Miles, grandson Nathan Benham and many special nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his brothers Stanislaus, Frank, John, Frank Towarznicki, and sister Hedwig.  Ted was quick witted and endlessly talented. He loved his wife and children greatly.  He even learned to love the animals they brought home.  He will be greatly missed by those he loved and those who loved him. 

Visitation, Tuesday February 26 from 4-8 at Sheets Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 604 E. Commercial Ave., Lowell, with Funeral Mass Wednesday, 11AM at St. Edward Catholic Church, 216 S. Nichols St., Lowell.  Cremation will follow.  www.sheetsfuneral.com

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