In Memoriam: Donald T. (“Ted”) Crump

1939 - 2008

ur longstanding friend and colleague, Ted Crump, passed away on March 29, 2008 at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. after a valiant 5-year bout with cancer. He was 68.

Ted was born in 1939 in McCammon, ID, in the Big Sky Country. He was a Man of the West.

He received a B.A. degree in political science from Idaho State University, then enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he completed a 75-week Russian-language course. He worked as a translator for Biosciences Information Services in Philadelphia from 1976-80.

Ted received an M.A. degree in Russian from the University of Utah, and later enrolled in a PhD program in Russian at Bryn Mawr College.

He was Head of the Translation Unit at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, from 1980 until his death. He worked in several languages, primarily Russian, German and Serbo-Croatian.

Ted was one of the founders of the National Capital Area Translators Association (NCATA), the Washington-aea chapter of ATA. He was the first editor of the chapter newsletter, the Capital Translator, a position he held for well over a decade.

Ted joined ATA in 1981, serving on the ATA Board of Directors from 1983-86 and editor of the ATA Chronicle from 1987-89. He made several presentations at ATA conferences, and was ATA-certified in Russian-to-English and German-to-English. He belonged to four ATA divisions.

In 2001 Ted compiled "Translating and Interpreting in the Federal Government", a comprehensive survey of the language needs, resources and missions of over 80 federal agencies and offices. The survey was published and marketed by ATA.

In 2003 he was granted honorary member status for his many contributions to ATA.

Ted was also an accomplished bass-baritone. He sang in a recital in Maryland in 2005, performing a number of arias in several languages. He was also active in a community theater group. He was absolutely awesome as Mayor Shinn in "The Music Man"!

He is survived by his wife, Natasha, and three sisters, Jeanne, Donna and Colleen.

A memorial service was held at Gawler's Funeral Home in Washington, D.C. on April 19, followed by interment in Parklawn Memorial Gardens in Rockville, MD.

Contributionw may be made in Ted's memory to The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, Inc., 333 Mamaroneck Ave.,#492, White Plains, NY, 10605.

We express our sincere condolences to Ted's family and friends. He will be missed.