Theodore “Ted” Kearly, a respected figure in Michigan Tech University’s athletic history, passed away on June 8, 2025, in Las Vegas due to complications from Parkinson’s disease at the age of 93.
From his early career at Michigan Tech in 1967 to his prime days, Ted always had his wife by his side, supporting him through thick and thin.
Like his impressive professional life, Kearly’s married life was also equally rich. He spent a blissful married life with Helen for over half a century, i.e., 73 years to be precise.
Their sound marital life came to an end when Helen took her last breath.
When she passed away peacefully on January 22, 2024, at her winter home in Las Vegas at the age of 91, she left behind a legacy that touched countless hearts.
Ted Kearly Met His Wife, Helen, When She Was 14, and Together They Raised 4 Kids!
Helen was born in 1932 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to Lucille Jacobs and Thomas Steed as the middle of three daughters.
Her father’s early demise left her mother a widow at just 23. Later, her mother Lucille remarried to Austin Manning, which extended the family with the addition of two more sisters.
They moved to Alpena, and it was there that Helen’s life took a fateful turn at 14. On a bus ride to Alpena High School, she met Ted Kearly, a young man who cleverly ensured she sat beside him.
A baseball game invitation sparked a love that lasted 73 years. Married in 1950, just months after high school graduation, Helen and Ted became each other’s best friends for life.
The longtime married couple, Ted and Helen, who had been together for 73 years, raised four children: Tom, Tim, Tyler, and Tammy, and spent their winters in Las Vegas.
Helen and Ted’s son, Tom Kearly, served as head football coach at Michigan Tech from 2006 to 2016, where he built a 70-44 win-loss record.
Under his leadership, the Huskies won the GLIAC North Division title in 2012 and made it to the NCAA Playoffs in 2014.
He was also honored as the GLIAC Coach of the Year in 2010. Before his time at Michigan Tech, Tom spent 19 years coaching at Central Michigan University
Helen Kearly Devoted Her Life to Teaching and Family!
Helen always wanted to be a teacher and worked hard to make that dream come true. After marrying Ted, she attended County Normal to earn her teaching certificate.
When Ted was drafted in 1952, Helen joined him at Ft Leonardwood, Missouri, teaching at the base school.
After his discharge, they moved so Ted could attend Michigan State University on the GI Bill, and Helen supported the family by substitute teaching.
The couple’s journey took them to various stops as Ted built his coaching career, finally settling in Hancock, Michigan, in 1967.
Though she lacked a bachelor’s degree, Helen substitute taught in Hancock schools for decades, becoming a familiar and beloved figure in classrooms from the 1970s to the mid-1990s.
She particularly cherished her time in the Learning Lab at EL Wright School.
Later, after her children were grown, Helen returned to Michigan State, earning her bachelor’s degree in education alongside her youngest child, which later allowed her to teach full-time.
Helen was a third-grade teacher who made everyone in her classroom feel loved and seen. She treated each student like they were special, baking their favorite dessert for their birthday and having a one-on-one lunch to celebrate with them.
Even after she retired in 1993, Helen remained active in her community.
While Ted was still working, she gave her time to the Elaine Bacon Literacy Program, where she helped the wives of Michigan Tech students learn to read and write.
She also volunteered with the Keweenaw Home Nursing Hospice Program, a local hospice, and the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home, a shelter for women in need.
A Girl Scout troop leader and a Sunday School teacher at Hancock United Methodist Church for 19 years, Helen remained consistent in nurturing others until her last days.
When Ted retired, the couple embraced a new chapter, splitting their time between Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Both were skilled card players, with Helen excelling at poker and bridge, competing in Hancock’s bridge leagues and solving daily newspaper puzzles until her final days.
As a grandmother, Helen adored reading to her grandchildren, making homemade doughnuts, and cheering at their sports games and school plays.
Even in her later years, she passed down traditions, teaching her grown grandson to make her famous dinner rolls.
A funeral service was held on May 20, 2024, at the First United Methodist Church in Hancock, officiated by Rev. Scott Lindenberg.
