Theodore "Ted" Pittorf, age 83, of Apple Valley, died Monday, January 16, 2017.

Ted was born July 31, 1933, to Albert "Bert" and Helene Robertson Pittorf in St. Paul.  After losing his father at the age of five, he was raised as an only child by a single mother in a time when this wasn't so common.  He enjoyed the comforts of a wonderful childhood filled with Boy Scouts, De Molay, church activities at St. Stephen's , swimming, tennis, sledding at Douglas Hill, and many friends and cousins.

Ted was an achiever who went on to attain the rank of Eagle S cout and was Past Master Counselor of the George H. Dern Chapter of De Molay .  He also graduated with honors from Humboldt High School in 1951.  From there he was accepted for admission t o Macale ster College in St. Paul and attended there for a year before transferring to the University of Minnesota to complete his degree in mechanical engineering.  At that time engineering was a five-year program, which put his graduation at June of 1956.

Along the way he met a cute soda jerk at Jordan's Drug Store where he would stop after playing tennis with his friend D ick. Ted married Marjorie "Marge" Engelmann on September 15, 1956 at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church .

After college Ted went to work for Whirlpool Mfg. as an engineer in the mechanical laboratory after having interned there during college.  From there he went on to Franklin Mfg. in Minneapolis, Continental Machines in Savage, and ultimately founded and was president of Applied Fluid Power, Inc., which was a distributor of hydraulic and pneumatic equipment.  His career at Applied covered 24 years; retiring at the age of 59.  Retirement was then filled with extensive travel all over the world.

Ted and Marge were the proud parents of four children:  Sue (Bob Olson), Steve (Melinda), Scott, and Sara (Steve Goff).  In addition, they were grandparents to Matt Olson, Kristin Olson (Joe Yun), Nick Pittorf, Sam Pittorf, Maddie Pittorf, Devyn Pittorf (Jake McCreary), Erik Pittorf, and Aidan Goff.  The first of the next generation was born three days before Ted's passing.  Sawyer McCreary made Ted a great grandfather , and he smiled at the news.