Theodore R Petry (1982-2017) Obituary and Memorial

Life story

Ted was the sweetest, most kindest human being I have ever had the honor of knowing. He was joyful and funny. His sense of humor is what started our friendship back in 2011. He grew up in Smithtown, Long Island and when I met him he was in Chicago. I didn't know then that he would become the person he became. We had a wonderful life together and it was only getting better. Unfortunately there were other cards to be played and everything came to an abrupt halt. I want you all to know the wonderful man I knew and planned to spend the rest of my life with.

In the years that I knew Ted we spent a lot of time together adventuring. He loved to travel and we always tried to find something to do. He loved his family. He loved his friends. They were the most important to him. When we spoke of planning our wedding he wanted us to have the grandest most extravagant wedding we could. He wanted a huge wedding in New York with everyone there to witness the love and excitement we were sharing. Our honeymoon was going to be in Italy. He was very proud of his culture. We planned to have a child and wanted to name her Ondine Brooklyn (he said it was important that Brooklyn be taken into account). We didn't have a boys name planned yet but we threw around some ideas. He absolutely loved his job and his coworkers. He was great at networking and keeping those connections. We were ready to become a power couple and make all of our plans and dreams become reality.

The day we met was on the 4th of July. That became our favorite holiday. We were both in a pool and complained about getting splashed water in our eyes because we both wore contacts. We were immediate friends and spoke almost everyday afterwards. We saw each other again at a wedding and he was rushing to get there from working in the city. I told him he was making good time and then we hungout there. We both had alot of things in common, most importantly was art. I loved watching him working on something and his art style became one of my favorite things about him.

Not everyone knows why we called each other Koala and Bambi so here it is. Koala was a nickname I was given because I liked to cling and hold on to his arm. I would make jokes about salad being eucalyptus and bamboo. He became Bambi because of his eyelashes. They were long and deer-like. He loved to blink extra hard to emphasize that his were a smidge longer than mine. We would called each other these names for years. We left notes to each other and signed them "love koala" or "love bambi".

Ted and I loved tattoos as well and we spent lots of time planning them. We also went to a tattoo convention for my birthday one year and we both got some pieces done by the same artist. Another time we went and got pieces done by different artists and he was super excited about his NYC piece done by a Brooklyn artist. I got his handwriting tattooed on my leg after his funeral and then I got 2 of his drawings as well, one on my leg and one on my arm (all done by a NY artist of course).

The first time I went to Long Island was for the 4th of July week in 2015. He introduced me to so much it quickly became my new favorite place. It felt like a second home to me. He showed me everything from his childhood home to beaches he often went to and his favorite restaurants. I was instantly hooked. He was proud of where he was from and that brought me so much joy. He got little jars for me to put sand from all the beaches we went to. We got alot of beachy decor because we decided that was our theme for the home we were looking for together. The beach/ocean was always my happy place and he made it become so much more. He took me to Time Square and the MET. We went to Central Park and I also saw where the Twin Towers stood. We went in the museum there and he told me his story of his experience of 9/11. We did alot of touristy stuff that I would've never done alone. It was beyond an amazing experience.

I will forever be grateful for the honor I had of being the love of his life. He frequently said it and I never doubted it. The 6 years we spent in each other's lives were wonderful. I only wish I had more time with him. There was so much we didn't get to have that we really wanted. Not a day goes by that I don't miss him or think of him. His final words play over and over in his accent that I loved; "I love you. I could kiss you all night." I remember our last weekend together so vividly. I miss his voice, his smile, his humor, his eyes, his hand holding mine, his warm hoodies, our walks and stargazing, our adventures, our weekend city escapes, and his cooking. He did so much for me in such a short amount of time. I was extremely lucky.

Koala loves you Bambi. Forever and always ♡

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