John Tedder

John Alfred Tedder, 90, of Mt. Gilead, passed away at his home on Sunday, July 23, 2023.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 28, 2023 at McRae Cemetery in Mt. Gilead. Pastor Chip McAulay will officiate. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 PM on Thursday evening at Edwards Funeral Home in Mt. Gilead.

Mr. Tedder was the youngest son born to the late Franklin Pierce and Mattie Warner Tedder on March 19, 1933 in Mt. Gilead. He was born during the depths of the Great Depression and grew up on a farm his parents inherited from his grandfather, William Randall Tedder. John attended Mt Gilead Elementary School and graduated from Mt. Gilead High School. Upon graduation, John enlisted in the US Air Force. He served for four years, with three being stationed with the 47th Air police Squadron in Norfolk, England.  

Upon completion of his 4 years of service, he entered college at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and graduated with a degree in English. After graduation, he began working as the manager at Fidelity Bank. He left the bank and became an insurance adjuster with National Insurance Company. His last job before retirement was with Penn National Insurance Company. After retirement, he and his wife, Joan, did a lot of traveling in their mobile home camper, ranging from Myrtle Beach all the way to Florida. He and his wife joined the Stanly Senior Center taking numerous trips from Las Vegas to Canada. When not traveling, he and his wife started taking ballroom dancing lessons with instructors from Charlotte that traveled to Stanly County.John was a people person. He met numerous people and made good friends throughout his life. His wife Joan became disabled after an auto accident and could not keep up with dancing, but he still enjoyed the dances and luncheons.  

He enjoyed his farm. It was a place of enjoyment to  him and a quiet place with solitude and memories of his childhood growing up on a large plantation. His life came to an abrupt end, tragically very quickly with his cancer diagnosis of the lungs and liver. All of John's nieces, nephews, and cousins would come to visit before he passed away and told him that he was their favorite relative. He is in a better place with his son,John Charles and his parents. Life for his wife and daughter will never be the same.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his son, John Charles Tedder; and siblings, Franklin, Doris, Walter, Albert, and Rachel.

He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Joan McRae Tedder of the home; daughter Lynn Margaret Tedder; brother: Jake Tedder; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. 

The family requests memorials to be made to First Presbyterian Church Mt. Gilead PO Box 157, Mt. Gilead, NC 27306 or Lake Tillery Church, PO Box 384, Mt. Gilead NC 27306.

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