George Mitchell “Mitch” Tederick, Sr., 85, of Winchester, VA, died peacefully in the loving arms of his Heavenly Father and with his family by his side on July 12, 2016 at Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, VA.
A funeral service will be conducted on Saturday, July 16th at 11:00 a.m. at Reliance United Methodist Church, 1574 Reliance Road Reliance, Virginia 22649 and Rev. Robert E. Clayton, II will preside.
Mitch was born October 24, 1930 in Travelers Rest, S.C. and was the son of the late Reverend Luther Paul Tederick and Myrtle Tate Tederick. He spent much of his early childhood in Edinburg, Virginia and in 1943 at the age of 13 his family moved to Reliance so that his father could pastor the church in Reliance. Mitch graduated from the Warren County High School, Class of 1949. He was a great high school athlete in basketball, football and baseball. Although he greatly enjoyed football, he considered baseball his truest passion. Mitch varsity lettered in all three sports while at Warren County High School and amazingly he received his first varsity letter in 8th grade in baseball.
Mitch went to Randolph Macon Academy (RMA) for a post graduate year prior to attending college. He was recruited by the United States Military Academy (West Point) and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) to play both baseball and football, ultimately choosing VPI because of his southern roots.
Mitch went on to play football and baseball at VPI and was a four year varsity letterman in baseball. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 1954 and was commissioned as a United States Army Officer.
Mitch met his future wife, Maria Amelia Delgado Carrion of Puerto Rico when she was a freshman at Radford College, then the women’s division of VPI. Their loving courtship lasted 6 years and they married in 1957.
Mitch proudly served his country and achieved the rank of Major. Shortly after his honorable discharge, he went back to RMA to teach, serve as commandant of cadets and of course, coach baseball and football. After spending 9 years at RMA, Mitch took on the role as the first Warren County 4-H Director responsible for the groundbreaking of the first two cabin clusters. In 1987 he became a successful business entrepreneur along with his wife. Together they built, operated and managed a general store known as the Apple Mountain Store in Linden, VA. He thoroughly enjoyed serving the local community living on Apple Mountain and surrounding area with fresh produce, pastries, Texaco gasoline and local arts and crafts for 12 years before selling in 1999. Mitch and his wife also opened Mela’s Boutique at Creekside in Winchester, VA.
Mitch’s love of his wife, his sons, his daughters-in-law and his 9 grandchildren was ever so present in his laughter and smile. He happily spent time farming and gardening or at the beach, but was happiest around his family which meant everything to him and he to his family. Around the Tederick compound in Front Royal a passerby would commonly hear the laughter of children and the exclamations of, “Papi”, which he thoroughly enjoyed.
Mitch was a member of the Front Royal Rotary Club, the Ruritan Club, the Kiwanis Club, and Mountain Falls Hunt Club.
Surviving are his wife of 59 years, Mrs. Maria Amelia Delgado Carrion Tederick, Winchester, VA; four sons and their spouses George M. Tederick, Jr. and Lisa of Front Royal, Mark A. Tederick and Joy of Woodbine, MD, Matthew A. Tederick and Susan of Front Royal, and Manuel A. Tederick and Jackie of Warren County; one brother, Paul Tederick of Stephens City, VA; two sisters, Jeanette Meyers of Stephens City, VA, Juanita Hutton, Frederick County, VA; and nine grandchildren Murphy Tederick, Ryan Tederick, Megan Tederick, Garrett Tederick , Adelina Tederick, Cristina Tederick, Stuart Tederick, Matthew Tederick, II, and Kade Mitchell Tederick.
Pallbearers will be Mitch’s four sons.
The family will receive friends on Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Maddox Funeral Home, 105 W. Main Street Front Royal, VA 22630.
The family would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Edward Smith, Dr. William Major, the caregivers at Firstlight and especially the outstanding, loving care provided by the nurses and staff of Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, VA. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury Employee Appreciation Fund, 300 Westminster-Canterbury Drive, Winchester, VA 22603.
Just heard that Mitch passed away. I liked Major Tederick when I was a student at RMA. He was always fair and willing to help out with tutoring math which was not my strong suit. My sympathies to his family. He was a really decent man.
I served with Captain Tederick when he was the commander of Headquarters Company and Band, 1st Armored Division , Ft Hood, Texas, At the time, I was a sergeant with the band, later to become a Chief Warrant Officer; Bandmaster, US Army. He was the best officer that I met during my 20 years in the Army. Had he decided to stay in the army, I’m sure that he would have become a General. My condolences to his wife and children. Gerald A Webb, CW3, retired.
It was my pleasure to serve with Mitch at the 40th Artillery Brigade in San Francisco in 1965-66. I reported to Mitch and he was an outstanding officer. I was a 2nd Lieutenant and by chance my wife and I lived next door to Mitch and Mela. I was present at the ceremony when Mitch was promoted to Major. We knew both boys, Mark and Matthew, and Mark said my wife’s (Nancy) cornbread was better than his dad’s, which upset Mitch. When our daughter was born, Mela sometimes helped Nancy with the baby and we sometimes watched the boys. Knowing Mitch and Mela was one of the best things about the time I was in the Army. We left San Francisco when I was transferred to Vietnam and lost contact with the Tedericks.