Ted Komala Obituary

Ted S. Komala, born August 27, 1936, was the third son of four boys born to Sophia and John Komala. Raised in Chicago, IL, the witty young Ted began his career as a Cartoonist for Playboy Magazine, later serving in the Air Force stationed in Greenland as an Engineer, often drawing portraits of fellow service men and their girlfriends for amusement.

Ted gained notoriety for his work at Channel 27 in Topeka, Kansas as Art Director. He designed the Sunflower House, the first Children's Advocacy Center in Topeka and created the center bar concept for Bennigan's restaurants. He produced several hard cover books including "Hostage"… a diary of the U.S. Marines held for 444 days in Iran. Ted also created the first "Early Warning Signs of a Heart Attack" with Dr. Glen Turner …. A series of TV commercials for the American Heart Association, becoming a nationally recognized program.

Working for Lily Tulip, he designed paper products for national restaurants including McDonald's, KFC and Burger King, along with lines of glassware. Returning to Kansas, Ted worked at the University of Kansas on improvement projects designing roadways, roundabouts and assisted living communities. As a personal project, he built a Newtonian Telescope from scratch donating it to the KU Department of Physics and Astronomy in 2000. Wanting to share his love of design, Ted spent countless hours mentoring the students at KU.

A loving son, brother, husband and father, Ted passed away on Friday, October 19, 2018. He is survived by his daughters, Christina Moore, Barb Bradford and Angela Komala, as well as his ex-wife Joyce and brothers John and Bill. Ted is preceded in death by his parents and eldest brother Fred. Ted has four grandchildren, Erin Jackson, Kyle Gudenkauf, Mark Reames Jr, and Hamilton Bradford, and four great-grandchildren. A master wood crafter, his ashes are preserved in one of his creations.