Raymond Theodore of Innisfail
It was our distinct pleasure to visit Raymond Theodore, affectionally known by his friends as Ted, at his home in Innisfail, Alberta. We enjoyed his affectionate manner and keenness to share some of his life-long accomplishments.
As a young boy, he remembers his father, a Norweigan Lutheran Minister, expressing his keen interest and determination in visiting all of the United States of America. Ted, the youngest of a large family, was eager to travel to a foreign country. Years later, after their arrival, they had fulfilled a good portion of their father’s dream.
During the time of the 1940’s World Fair in New York, Ted’s father met a man who had been in the presence of Baha’u’llah and claimed Him to be the next Manifestation of God; the Return of the Spirit of Christ.
“That got my attention,” Ted told us.
Later in his life, he declared his devotion to the Faith and responded to the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi’s call to the friends to arise and pioneer in untouched areas and to open the hearts of the peoples in the north of Canada.
Soon after, Ted and his family settled in the Canadian Yukon.
Some of Ted’s family history in the Yukon is captured in one of the books he co-authored, “Yukon’s Signal Victory”.
We left Ted in good spirits and in the gentle attention of one of his caretakers. We were flush with warm hearts and a sense of relief that we’d had an elevated conversation with this distinguished Knight of Baha’u’llah.
