Theodore A. "Ted" Dumas
May 25th, 2018
Theodore A. "Ted" Dumas died peacefully at Harbor Point in Centerville on Monday May 21, 2018 at the age of 85.
Ted is survived by his brother, Philip E. Dumas; his children, David M. Dumas, Stephen D. Dumas, and Tina Dumas; daughter-in-law, Ashley Dumas; son-in-law, Newt Jordan; and four grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Mary G. Dumas of Dennis and Irving, TX.
Ted was born October 8, 1932 in Woonsocket, RI to Theodore E. and Eleanor Dumas. He graduated from Blackstone High School and then the New England Institute of Anatomy with a degree in funeral directing and anatomy. He met Mary while working at Worcester City Hospital, where she was working in the hospital laboratory. They had three children, David, Stephen, and Tina.
When Ted decided to make a career change to “work with the living,” he went back to school in the evenings to become a registered sanitarian, and worked as the first public health agent in Westwood, MA. In 1973, Ted took a job in Dennis as their first public health agent, and eventually became the Director of Public Health. He grew the department and had a variety of duties, but his philosophy was always to try to help people improve their compliance with the public health regulations. He started a summer internship program for the department where he was able to mentor and train numerous students who continued in the field of public health. He retired in 1995 and was able to expand his septic design business, TADCO, Inc.
He was a longtime member and a past President of the Dennis-Harwich Lions Club, where he ran the Dennis Beer Races for several years. Ted enjoyed gardening and woodworking in his free time, and Ted and Mary often enjoyed picnics on the beach or in their boat. Ted and Mary were members of Our Lady of the Cape Church for many years, where he was a lector and she played the organ. They moved to Irving, TX in 2009 to spend time with their grandchildren. Ted moved back to the Cape after Mary’s death in 2011 from ovarian cancer.
Friends and relatives are invited to call Thursday May 31 from 4-7 pm in the Hallett Funeral Home, 273 Station Ave., South Yarmouth.
A Funeral Mass will be held 11 am on Friday June 1 in Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Rd, Brewster.
Interment will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery, South Dennis.
Contributions in his memory may be made to Dennis-Harwich Lions Club, PO Box 41, Dennis Port, MA 02639, the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org, or to the Hospice & Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts www.hospicefed.org.