Tom Tegeder’s life revolved around the newspaper so much that many of his stories, recounted by his family, naturally started with him reading a newspaper.
“He read the AJC every day of his life,” his grandson, Dylan Edwards, said. “Cover to cover. Every day.” He then liked to call his family, or anyone else interested in what was going on in the world, to discuss what he read.
In his adolescence, Tegeder attended Marist High School when it was still in downtown Atlanta. He told his grandson, Edwards, stories about how he used to “run the streets” when he was young. “He would tell me that he and his friend used to sing to women, a capella songs, outside the windows of their houses trying to woo them,” he said. “That’s what you did in the 40s.”
Later, when Edwards was a kid and out past 7 p.m., he would lovingly accuse him of “running the streets,” too.
At 17 years old, Tegeder joined the Navy. He signed up in the spring of 1941 before World War II had begun for the United States. He participated in the D-Day invasion and worked as a medic on the “Landing Ship, Tanks,” the vessels created to carry vehicles, cargo and troops, which were facetiously referred to as “large, slow-moving targets.”
He developed long-lasting friendships during his time on the LSTs, and went on to attend LST reunions every year with his shipmates. Edwards, who attended some of the reunions, said they were a “big deal.” His grandfather was one of the last ones left attending. “Those guys were made of something different — that generation,” he said.
Tom Tegeder, born Feb. 15, 1924, died April 27 at age 92. He was a lifelong Atlantan, born and raised in the city. His family had a small memorial gathering in his honor and will hold a flag ceremony later this year.
Tegeder had an affinity for history, especially military history, and his love of history rubbed off on his daughters and grandchildren. “He talked a good deal about Normandy, and getting ready … It’s just part of your life forever,” his daughter, Eleanor Day, said.
Edwards remembers all the history books his grandfather collected. on his book shelves. He would often borrow books on the war and later come back to discuss the “specifics” with his grandfather.
When “Gone With the Wind” premiered in Atlanta at Loew’s Grand Theater, Tegeder was part of the honor guard that met the big names at the airport. Day said he can even be seen in documentaries about the famed movie. “He’s right up against the airplane when Clark Gable and the whole crew came,” she said. “If you know when to look, he’s right there, his head and military hat.”
After the war, Tegeder moved to Athens, Ga., where he was a sports writer for a variety of publications in the Southeast, including the Jacksonville Journal. He covered mainly baseball and college football.
Day said he “lived and died” by the newspaper every day. One morning, at a cafe in Athens, Tegeder made his entire breakfast order without looking up from his newspaper, his daughter recalls. The waitress brought out his food and asked, “Can I get you anything else?” When he pulled his nose out of the ink, “he was just struck dumb,” Day said. “That was the beginning, the middle, and the end. It was a real love story.”
He was married 62 years, had five children, and many grand- and great-grandchildren.
Tegeder is survived by daughters Bonnie Edwards and Eleanor Day and grandchildren including Edwards, Chris White, Katie White and David Tegeder. He was preceded by his only son, Mickey Tegeder, who died in the 1960s; daughter Nancy Tegeder, who died in the early 1970s, and wife Patricia Tegeder, who died in 2004 after a battle with cancer.
No matter what happened, Day remembers her father telling her to “sit tight in the boat,” and that he hoped his obituary would end with “Anchors Aweigh!”
About the Author
