Obituary of Theodore P. Bleffert

Theodore P. Bleffert March 25, 1921 - March 16, 2013 Formerly of Goshen, NY Theodore "Ted" Bleffert, just nine days shy of his 92nd birthday, passed away on March 16, 2013, at Seasons Hospice, Christiana Hospital, Newark, Delaware. Ted was born in Bonn, Germany, the son of Peter and Magdalena Goedel Bleffert. He attended the University of Vienna, studying engineering. His studies were interrupted by World War II, in which he served in a mobile unit and as a translator. He spent several years as a prisoner of war in France, ultimately making a daring escape from the prison camp. He married his sweetheart, Johanna "Joanne" Hermine Schneble in 1948, and four years later moved his young family to the United States. Ted knew the U.S.A. was the Land of Opportunity, and he lived the American Dream. He was so very proud to take the oath of citizenship in 1957, together with his wife and young daughter. He refused to be called a hyphenated German-American. He always considered himself, simply, an American. Ted was a plant engineer for the Ford Motor Company in Mahwah, NJ, and after his retirement from Ford, was the plant engineering manager and OSHA officer for the M.A.N. Company in Cleveland, NC. He instilled his values of hard work, dedication, loyalty, perseverance, and an entrepreneurial spirit in his two daughters, Dr. Anita Bleffert-Schmidt of Goshen; and Cindy B. Walkusky of Middletown, DE. He was a dedicated husband and father who strived to provide a life of love and laughter for his family. Ted and Joanne enjoyed retirement in Sun City Center, Florida, for almost 20 years before moving to Delaware in 2010. He is survived by his wife of sixty-five years, Joanne Bleffert of Middletown, DE; brother, Helmut and his wife Irmgard Bleffert of Cologne, Germany; his two daughters, Anita and her husband Walter Schmidt of Goshen; Cindy and her husband Alan Walkusky of Middletown, DE; his three grandsons Scott and his wife Jennifer Daly of Averill Park, NY; William Schmidt and his fianc Kati Howell of Nashville, TN; Dan Schmidt of Goshen; his granddaughter Marabeth Walkusky of Middletown, DE; and his two great-granddaughters Elizabeth and Hannah Daly of Averill Park, NY. Visitation will be on Friday, March 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Donovan Funeral Home, 82 South Church Street, Goshen, NY. Burial will be at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ulster Community College Foundation, Inc., PO Box 557, Stone Ridge, NY 12484 and marked for the Theodore P. Bleffert Entrepreneurial Scholarship.