Theodore (Ted) Joseph Plappert, passed away quietly in his home on Saturday, April 4, 2020, after a very short, but losing battle with cancer. Ted lived all of his 67 years to the fullest and shared his strength, generosity of spirit, intelligence, warmth and humor to the very end with those who loved him most: his mother, Dorothy Ruth Plappert, his sisters, Dot and Ann Plappert, the extended family of his dear departed wife, Maureen Plappert, her children, Alisa Schultz and Patrick Torres, and his cherished friend Ginny Englefield.

His family, and those who were fortunate enough to really get to know Ted, knew that they had his constant support and affection. If you needed something physical, he was the first to volunteer his muscle. If you needed something repaired – Ted had a tool for that. If you wanted to celebrate a holiday, Ted would arrive with a car filled with presents. If you just wanted to talk or reminisce, conversations with Ted become comedy dialogues and family felt his empathy and the joy of shared experiences, often finishing each other's sentences.

Ted was a sports enthusiast, an avid supporter of the Philadephia Phillies and Eagles and more recently, World Cup Soccer. But, one of his most important traits was his intellectual curiosity. He was a constantly inquiring history buff and held informed positions on politics, current affairs, and what was wrong and how to fix things. He was an enthusiastic collector of so many different kinds of things: seashells decorate his home, movies and music from throughout the decades cheer his visitors, and recent thrift store discoveries line the walls along with dozens of photos expertly enhanced in Photoshop.

In his professional life, Ted shared his expertise and analytical skills in echocardiography with doctors and colleagues around the world, but most notably at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Ted began his affiliation with UPenn in 1978 as an Echocardiography Technician and Assistant Director of Research, and returned in 1994, after spending eight years as Senior Echocardiography Tecnician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a year at the Societe Pour la Recherche Cardiologique in Switzerland, to become Research Echocardiographer and Manager of the Center for Quantitative Echocardiography. Ted felt a sense of great pride and accomplishment in that his participation in so very many meticulous studies over the years was able to influence the diagnosis and treatment of heart patients. He was also proud that the list of his publications on his C.V. went on for pages, but he was probably most proud and gratified to have been associated with so many talented, dedicated medical professionals, perhaps, most significantly with Dr. Martin St. John Sutton.

The family requests that though many will feel deep sadness and loss at this time, that all who knew Ted please try to remember the last time he made you smile.

In lieu of flowers the family would like to suggest a donation to the Foundation that supports students at CCP, the school where he first studied Cardiovascular Technology and where he met his wife,  Maureen, a fellow grad. The contact information is as follows:  Community College of Philadelphia Foundation, 1700 Spring Garden Street Fl7, Philadelphia, PA 19130   (215-751-8042)

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