Dr. Theodore (“Ted”) Burdette Walton Jr., 83, died suddenly on August 1, 2024 at home in Grovetown, GA, formerly of Oxford, MI.
Ted was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 22, 1940, to Theodore B. Walton Sr. and Margaret Pahl. As a young boy, he enjoyed visiting the family orchard, and hunting in the woods. He had a special bike for his city paper route, delivering papers daily. His father was an optometrist, and his mother ran the office, so Ted learned early how an optometry business worked. He met Nancy at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI where he was a premed student studying Biology from 1958-62. There, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega and built his business skills as kitchen manager, increasing meal attendance many fold with his eye to quality and quantity.
Ted then attended Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, IL. He felt he learned a lot working in the heart of Chicago, gaining experience with a wide range of eye conditions and traumas. After graduating with honors with a B.S. and O.D. in Optometry in 1966, he and Nancy were married on August 6, 1966. They moved to Detroit where he joined his father’s practice. His father also worked in a small satellite office “out in the boonies” in Oxford, MI. Ted decided to invest time in growing the Oxford practice, starting in 1966. It became his sole practice in 1975 and grew into Walton & Becker Eyecare.
In addition to his professional life, Ted was a devoted and active father to his twin daughters Meredith Lynne and Alicia Merritt who were born in 1977. Alicia and Meredith brought joy and light into his and Nancy’s lives, and made everything more fun. Supporting their activities in soccer, marching band, track and field, and swing dance became one of their major family activities.
At his core, Ted was well known for his love of life and large personality. You could always tell where he was by his laugh, which floated up from wherever he was telling his favorite jokes. He saw the positive in life and the best in others. He was a fast friend to all and one who appreciated sharing life with others. He and Nancy had many close friends who they acquired, college friends, neighbors, optometrists, and family. They loved planning adventures and exploring the world with such special people.
He was dedicated to his practice and wanted his patients to be treated with timely care and compassion. He loved practicing in the town of Oxford. When interviewed by the Oxford / Orion Progress edition, Ted said “Oxford has been very, very good to me. The people have given me the chance to really practice optometry on a full scope, instead of just being an eyeglass dealer. I’ve been able to develop the kind of practice I wanted to in an area I could grow with.”
Connecting with fellow optometrists was also something he felt was key. He became an active member of the Michigan Optometric Association (MOA) in 1966, serving on the Board of Directors (1978-84) and as President (1981-83). He served as Chairman of the Vision Care Benefits Committee (1983-85) and on the Legislative Committee (1990-96). In 2004, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for significant contributions to the Profession of Optometry from the Michigan Optometric Association. He was also active in the American Optometric Association, chairing their Vision Care Benefits committee (1985-88), and the Insurance committee (1992-98) including as chair (1994-97).
Always pushing the boundaries of his profession was something Ted was known for. He spent considerable time working to make it easier for patients to choose their provider and get vision insurance. One of his signature achievements was to expand the prescription drug capabilities of optometrists. Ted and the other members of the MOA’s Legislative Committee worked hard to pass legislation, first for Diagnostic Pharmaceutical Agents (DPA’s) in 1984, and then for Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agents (TPAs) in 1995. The TPA effort began in 1984 with Ted proposing to pass enabling legislation, though this proposal was met with disapproval. But Ted and the committee were determined to lead the profession “kicking and screaming into the future.” The members had clever code names with Ted’s being the “Ancient Mariner,” which quickly got him past receptionists for immediate planning phone calls and updates. Working over the next 11 years, first with a stubborn profession, and then over three legislative sessions, they ultimately got the TPA effort passed, greatly expanding how optometrists could help their patients.
As an avid volunteer, Ted joined Oxford’s Lion’s Club in 1967. With Nancy and Meredith, he worked with Opening Eyes at Special Olympics Michigan (2000-2018), spending one week each summer at the Michigan competition. They organized and volunteered, performing refractions on all athletes to determine if they needed updated prescriptions, with new eyeglasses produced on site. He was a member of Lake Orion Methodist Church and delivered Community Meals for people who couldn’t get to the church. In the summer, he delivered “Blessings in a Bag” that provided school children lunches.
Ted’s other passions included sailing and golfing. Ted and Nancy owned a Cal25 sailboat which was part of North Star Sail Club on Lake St. Clair. He did several challenging races, including the Sarnia to Alpina on Lake Huron, and the Cal25 national race on Lake St. Clair. He also crewed the Bayview Mackinac Race (Port Huron to Mackinac Island) and the Lake Huron Double-handed Challenge (Port Huron to Rogers City) several times. Once they sold the sailboat, they moved to Oxford Lake where they had small sailboats and a pontoon boat for fishing and playing with the grandchildren. Ted was a dedicated golfer who belonged to Boulder Pointe Golf Club in Oxford, MI and previously to Brookwood Golf Club in Rochester Hills, MI. He was a consistent player in the “Sunday Dime League” at Springdale Golf Course, where he got a hole-in-one on August 30, 1998, on hole 6, 114 yards.
Ted is survived by his wife Nancy (Carleton) Walton, daughters Alicia (Benjamin) Steele and Meredith (Michael) Tongish, granddaughters Grace Steele, Phoebe Tongish and Addie Tongish, as well as nieces, nephews and their families.
A Celebration of Ted Walton’s Life will be hosted by family and friends on Sunday, October 13, 2024, at 2pm at Lake Orion United Methodist Church 140 East Flint Street, Lake Orion, MI 48362. Please RSVP here https://www.greenvelope.com/event/celebrating-the-life-of-dr-theodore-b-walton
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to either:
Community of Meals at the Lake Orion United Methodist Church
https://secure.myvanco.com/YNDD/campaign/C-11GNJ
Opening Eyes at Special Olympics Michigan
