We lost our beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother, Ted Safranski, on Jan. 27, 2017, at home under hospice care following a brief illness.

Ted was born Feb. 23, 1939, in Oswego, New York, to Ted Safranski and Jane Hitchcock. He attended elementary and high school in Fulton, New York. In 1959 he came to South Dakota to attend Dakota Wesleyan University, where he played football and graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1967.

On Oct. 16, 1965, Ted married Gerene Locken. They had two sons: Terence John, born Nov. 1, 1968, and Brett Joseph, born Aug. 9, 1973.

Ted worked for Champlin Oil Co. as a field representative in Sioux Falls from 1967-68, when he started working for the Department of Labor. In 1970 he moved to Mitchell and managed the Job Service office until 1997. He retired from the labor department in October 2000. After retiring, he worked part time at the Lakeview Golf Course for eight years as a groundskeeper and volunteered for various tournaments there.

Calling Ted an avid golfer is an understatement. He had four holes-in-one, the last on Oct. 2, 2013, and golfed his age three times, most recently on Oct. 31, 2016.

Ted and Gerene loved to travel, especially to see their grandkids in Illinois and Montana and his sister in Florida. A big fan of Notre Dame Football, he attended several games in South Bend, Indiana. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church and served on the Lakeview Golf Course Board of Directors.

Preceding him in death were his parents and his parents-in-law, Isidore and Eileen Locken, who loved him as a son and friend.

Ted is survived and will be deeply missed by his wife of 51 years, Gerene Safranski of Mitchell; son T.J. Safranski, his wife Melissa and their children Taylor and Zachary of Washington, Illinois; son Brett Safranski, his wife Anna and their children Noah, Ella, Owen and Tate of Bozeman, Montana; his sister, Barb Lewis and her husband David of St. Petersburg, Florida; and his sisters-in-law, who considered Ted their big brother, Carol Leitheiser of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Mary Lynn Gerber of Stevensville, Montana.

No local services are planned. Burial will take place at a later date in Bozeman, Montana at Sunset Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.