Ted O. Britain

Pastor Ted Britain was born in Hot Springs, South Dakota on January 19^th, 1941.  He attended schools in Williamsburg, Ellenwood, & Hill City, Kansas.  His last year & a half of High school was at Central High in Pueblo, Colorado.  After High School, Ted Spent the summer working on a cattle ranch in South Dakota.  He then attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on an athletic scholarship for Diving, where he placed 2^nd in the Rocky Mountain Conference his freshman year.

After his freshman year at Greeley, he was a camp counselor at a private boy’s camp in Northeast Wisconsin for the summer of 1960. At the close of the summer he traveled to Seattle, Washington to take a job with Pan-Alaska Fisheries Company.  Working on a 365-foot ship that was being converted into a Crab cannery, he sailed from Seattle, up the inland straits and across the Gulf of Alaska to Kodiak, Alaska and down the Aleutian Islands to the King Crab fishing area.

In late December, Ted caught a ride with a bush pilot that brought mail to the ship once a week and after a day riding with the bush plane, he flew from Anchorage back to Seattle and then to Rapid City, South Dakota.  He then joined his parents in Hot Springs for Christmas and on the 6^th of January 1961 he joined the Air Force.

After Basic Training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas and Weather School at Chanute AFB in Illinois, Ted was stationed at Kindley AFB in Bermuda for three years.

There he served as a weather observer, a radiosonde operator and flew as a dropsonde operator with the 53^rd Weather Recon Squadron, (aka the Hurricane Hunters), flying through the wall and into the eye of Atlantic Ocean hurricanes to track their speed and direction of travel, before his enlistment was up and he was discharged.

After he was discharged, Ted traveled to Denver where he met the publisher of the Delta County Independent and accepted the job as Sports Editor for the paper.  After a year of writing sports, he took the job of Advertising Manager for the Independent.

It was here in Delta that he met his wife LaDell Hines.  They were married on September 11, 1965.  The following year they moved to Grand Junction where Ted took the job of Account Executive with the advertising staff of the Grand Junction Sentinel.

While they were in Grand Junction their oldest son Lorren was born and Ted started his own flooring business.  Then in January of 1968 while attending a Sunday evening service in Delta, Ted surrendered to the call to the ministry.  Selling everything they had except a few kitchen items and the baby bed, Ted & LaDell moved to Waxahachie Texas to begin Bible College.  After earning his degree, they returned to Delta to serve on Staff with Pastor Don Farmer as the Education Director at First Assembly of God Church here in Delta.

Ted and LaDell later pastored churches in Woodland Park, Colorado, Rocky Ford, Colorado, Cortez, Colorado, Hastings, Nebraska, Twin Falls, Idaho and Seaside, California.  After thirty-two years of pastoral ministry, they returned to Delta and Ted traveled all over America for seven years to speak in conferences.  They then returned to Cortez as interim pastors.  Three months turned into three years until his fourth major heart attack forced complete retirement.  With LaDell’s help and the Lord’s blessings, each church increased in attendance, finances, and missions giving.

During his lifetime Ted has been in every state in the U.S. except North Dakota.  He has been to every major city in America, as well as 14 foreign countries.  He had mentioned that one of the highlights of his life was preaching the Gospel at a secret house meeting in communist controlled Viet Nam, and 4 people accepted Christ as their savior.

Ted went to be with his Lord on Monday, December 4, 2023.  He passed peacefully from this life to eternity in his sleep.  He leaves behind his loving wife LaDell, three Sons and their families.  Lorren & his wife Meda Britain, (their children, Nolan & his wife Erin Britain, Kaylee & her husband Nolan Davis).  Byron & his wife Misty Britain (their children, Macey & Brady), Ron (and his two girls, Isabelle & Abigail).  Great grandchildren – Dawson, Oaklyn, Kamri, Chandler, Kendall & one more soon to come.

Pastor Ted Britain, Loving husband, Father and Grandfather.   He preached & taught the Gospel for over 45 years. 

Ted’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hope West Hospice.