Stark County men to receive 'Veteran of the Year' distinction Nov. 11
CANTON ‒ Gary Ickes and Bradley Teis devoted their lives to helping military veterans in Stark County.
Now both men - Teis, posthumously - will be honored Friday on Veterans Day by the Greater Canton Veterans Service Council at Westbrook Veterans Memorial Park in Canton. The ceremony is slated for 11 a.m.
Both men were named Veterans of the Year.
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Both men "were nominated by four different (military) organizations," said Army veteran Richard Biedenbach, the 2016 recipient and veterans council trustee. "That is truly a rarity. They were both voted unanimously."
Teis, 68, died Aug. 3. His widow, Roxanne Teis, and children are expected to represent him at the ceremony.
Ickes, 78, has been battling health scares since September 2021. He had COVID followed by a stroke. He and his wife, Tina, are expected to attend Friday.
Gary Ickes knew Brad Teis from their American Legion activities. They were both officers.
"They did a lot together," Tina Ickes said.
The ceremony will include guest speakers Canton Mayor Thomas Bernabei and Matt Slater, director of veterans services at Family and Community Services. Slater's group creates housing opportunities for homeless veterans.
The Repository interviewed Tina Ickes and Roxanne Teis for this story. Here's what they shared:
Alliance's Gary L. Ickes (Army)
It had been a while since Tina Ickes has stepped into American Legion Post 166 in Alliance. There was a time when it was the couple's second home until Gary's health issues.
"He loved this place," she said while sitting at a table there.
Gary Ickes served two years in the Army, drafted in 1965, in Germany where he was an instructor. Ickes was hurt after he fell and his back struck sharp metal.
He returned home and worked as a purchasing agent for a local company. Later, he lost his job after the company was sold. He went on to manage the Alliance American Legion post.
Ickes also took a role that put him a position to help many military veterans, serving as executive director of the Stark County Veterans Service Commission. He left the position in 2017.
"He loved his job because he was helping veterans, and that was a great passion of his," Tina Ickes, a retiree, said.
For example, if a veteran needed a place to stay or needed some money, her husband would make it happen. If they just needed to talk, Gary Ickes listened.
"I think he deserves (the recognition). He's done a lot for veterans," Tina Ickes said.
Her husband has been either in a hospital or an assisted living facility since last September.
Ickes had gone with another veteran to the American Legion National Convention in Phoenix, Ariz. The two men returned home with COVID. Ickes survived. His friend didn't.
Four days later, Ickes had a stroke. He has been in assisted living since January. "He needs more help with his walking and his speech," Tina Ickes said. "He understands you."
She hopes her husband makes enough progress to return home in a few months.
Bradley A. Teis Sr. (Navy) of Lake Township
Brad Teis relaxed, but he didn't like it.
His wife said he was always on the move, staying active in the community and supporting veterans. He planned his class reunions, co-founded veteran programs and coached sports.
He was an active member of American Legion Post 44 in Canton, and he had been elected state commander for the organization before he died from a heart attack.
"I went with him to a lot of conventions, trying to support him as much as I could," said Roxanne Teis, Brad's wife. "(This recognition) means a lot. He really deserved it. He worked really hard."
Brad Teis served four years in the Navy, from 1975 to 1979, before he went to work for the Hoover Co. in North Canton. He, later, retired when the plant closed.
He also served as a volunteer firefighter where he met his wife, an EMT. Now she's a nurse. "We met at a fire," she said. "We got married in 1989."
They shared a life for 33 years in Lake Township. They had two children. Brad Teis also had two children from a previous marriage. He also had grandchildren.
After he died, Roxanne Teis sold their house and moved to a smaller place near Green. There, she has kept her husband's memory alive, dedicating a room to him.
"He loved kids," she said. "He just spent a lot of time trying to raise money for all different organizations. He volunteered at a nursing home. He cooked breakfast for vets."
Biedenbach, who knew Teis, said Teis co-founded a program with Aultman Hospital to visit veterans in nursing homes and hospice care and talk to them, console them.
"He was an impressive man," Biedenbach said.
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com
Follow on Twitter @bduerREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Gary Ickes, Bradley Teis named Veterans of the Year in Stark County
