Obituary of Terry Lee Pardee

Dear Dad, You were born March 3, 1948, to grandpa pop and grandma (William and Willa) and grew up in Southern California with your five siblings (Ron, Marvin, Mike, Chuck and Teresa). In your ‘formative years’, you loved going fishing on grandpa pops boat, gardening with your mom and grandmother, going to Ensenada, Mexico where the family helped orphan children, viewing creatures in tide pools, playing the trumpet, backpacking, and getting ‘in trouble’ with your siblings, even though ‘they made you do it’. Your face always lit up telling us stories about your family that you loved so much, and often those stories were accompanied by contagious belly laughs. A sound that will always be a favorite. You married mom (Janet) on the Queen Mary in Long Beach in 1978 and were married 45 years. You always talked about how you loved not just her, but the ‘essence of her’, and that was evident by the life and love you shared. You traveled all over Europe and North America together, even re-proposing to her at the top of the Eiffel Tower and reinstating your vows on a cruise ship in Mexico. A true romantic at heart. Whether you were camping in King’s Canyon or snorkeling / diving in Hawaii, you both shared your love of nature, the outdoors, and adventure. You also saw many plays and speakers at the theater, to which Book of Mormon would always be your favorite. Most importantly, you showed us what love looks like and how to ‘build a castle’ with the one you love. Thank you! You also had two of the most awesome children in 1982 and 1984 (Cherilyn and Jeff). You always told us that we were the ‘perfect combination of genetic material’. Although you always said it with that big cheesy grin of yours, instilling in us the importance of not taking yourself too seriously, because you also said most of that genetic material ‘had to come from your mother’. You loved us more than anything dad, and we knew it by how you showed up every day. Whether it was coming to a ballet recital or soccer game, going to a Linkin Park concert (even though you preferred the speed of Neil Diamond), driving us across country to attend college or A-school in the Navy … you were always there. Your son will never forget surviving a Raiders game with you, or how you snuck down to the field next to the players and cheerleaders’ mid game … how did you do that? Maybe it was your charisma. And your daughter will never forget that you were the first man who gave you flowers after her first ballet performance. You will always be our ‘mucho macho heman’, and we couldn’t be prouder to be your kids. That awesome genetic material passed on to your grandson Casey (aka ‘little toad’) too. And what adventures you both had together … baseball games, camping, throwing rocks into the King’s River! Gosh you loved splashing in the river together. You always said that one of your proudest accomplishments in life was being a grandpa, and we see much of you in him. And now your son gets to pass on all that to your great-grandson (Ezra). Then there is that brain of yours! You attended San Fernando Valley State College (now known as California State University Northridge (or CSUN)) and graduated with your Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Entomology. When asked “why bugs dad”? You replied simply, ‘Because bugs are cool’. You always loved animals! Then in your 60s you went back to school to get your PhD in Epidemiology from Walden University. You showed us that it is never too late to do the things you want to do in life, as long as you work hard for it. What an accomplishment. Not a lot of people know that you were an LAPD reserve officer in your 30s. You always said it was an experience that you’d never forget and was some of the most fun you’d ever had. Or that you worked in the lab doing research at Amgen for a few years. But that is because your most rewarding and greatest life purpose was becoming a teacher. Your career started at Newbury Park High School (NPHS) in 1973, where you taught biology, anatomy/physiology, and chemistry. You were a cheerleading advisor, wrestling coach, led the Yosemite Institute ski trips, started the cadaver science program because you wanted to stop animal dissection in the classroom, and did many, many other things outside of the ‘day job’. When ‘take your kid to work’ day came around (we figured it was a national holiday), we had a blast doing science experiments and doing homework on those black work bench tables in the D building. In 1996 you left NPHS and started teaching anatomy / physiology and biotechnology at Ventura College. Professor Pardee! You taught thousands of nurses, physicians, paramedics, researchers, and physician assistants to be during your tenure there. To this day if you go into the lab, you’ll find the anatomy models we painted over one summer or maybe a sample of a ‘Dear Grandma’ letter. And at Community Memorial Hospital or Los Robles Hospital, the word space … space … echoes in the halls. You blessed so many students and colleagues with not only your brains, but your passion for learning and education. Your passion for educating young and old minds alike ensured that your final days were filled with compassion, dignity and care. What a full circle moment and a legacy you left in the education and medical communities. The last few weeks we’ve heard words like inspiring, ‘mensch’, best friend, kind, altruistic, intelligent, loving, and compassionate. We’ve heard things like ‘he saved my life’, ‘I’m a nurse because of him’, ‘he was my favorite teacher ever’, ‘he was my best friend’, and ‘he gave me purpose’. So many memories and stories of the great man we just know as ‘dad’. So, consider this our love letter to you. Our thank you for being such a force of nature and someone we can be proud of. We will miss you more than any words on paper could ever express. We promise to love each other, take care of each other, and to always ‘have courage, and be kind’. And when we come to the finish line, we strive to say what you said … ‘what a ride’! This world truly is a better place because of you… we love and miss you! -Janet, Cherilyn, Jeffrey, Casey, Ezra-