Chester's Ted Search dead at 80; business and community leader

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ When he was four, Theodore C. "Ted" Search, Jr. moved with his family from Harrisburg to Chester, where Ted's father and Adolph Werre bought Chester Motor and Implement Company.

That was in 1934. Last Thursday, Mr. Search died at Three Springs Lodge from pulmonary fibrosis and pneumonia. He was 80.

According to his family, he didn't want people to grieve his passing. He told them, "I want a celebration. I want lots of laughs and memories."

Mr. Search believed in having something to look forward to, and lived his life to the fullest. He is remembered as fair, honest, helpful, and humorous by those who knew him. He played a vital role in his hometown community and brought honor to it by his many accomplishments.

As a boy growing up in Chester, Mr. Search attended St. John Lutheran and Chester High School. He was a star player on the Yellow Jackets football and basketball teams.

After high school he attended Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri. At Wentworth, he was named to the All-Missouri Junior College team in basketball and won an athletic scholarship to the University of Louisville, where he played for the Louisville Cardinals.

Before graduating from Louisville in 1952, Mr. Search married Angela Scott of Chester in 1951. They had five sons, Tom, Tad, Toby, Tate, and Tucker. Tom, Tate, and Tucker reside in Chester, and Toby lives nearby in Columbia. Tad is in San Antonio. There are eight grandchildren and one great grandchild.

In 1953, Mr. Search joined the family's automobile business. Following his father's death in 1971, he took over the business, now known as Chester Chrysler Center.

He was also very active in the community. He organized Chester Night at Busch Stadium, a summer tradition. He served on the school boards for St. John Lutheran and Chester District 139. He was a member of the Chester Chamber of Commerce, Chester Country Club, and the Chester Elks. He coached summer juvenile baseball. He was a member of the Popeye Picnic Committee. He also wrote a sports column for the Herald Tribune for a number of years.

Despite running a successful business and his community involvement, Mr. Search found time to officiate Illinois High School Association football, basketball, and baseball games for 31 years. He worked the IHSA basketball championships in 1969, 1970, and 1971, back when the state only had one division.

In 1988, Mr. Search's officiating work earned him membership in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame. His father had been elected to the IBCA Hall of Fame in the inaugural year of 1973. They were the first father and son to receive the prestigious honor.

Mr. Search served as football rules interpreter for the IHSA for many years and was a member of the Egyptian Officials Association.

In 1998, Mr. Search was named the Citizen of the Year by the Chester Chamber of Commerce. In 2000, he was named parade marshal for the annual Popeye Picnic.

Memorials may be made to the Salvation Army.

A full obituary appears on page 6A in this week's edition.