Theodore "Ted"

Banks, Jr.

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IN LOVING MEMORY

Theodore "Ted" Banks, Jr.

May 31 1934 - Aug 25 2016

Theodore H. Banks Jr. passed away in his home in Gunter, Texas on August 25, 2016 due to complications of gastric cancer. He was 82 years old. He is survived by Judy, his wife of 53 years; his daughter Jennifer Nix and her husband WC Nix; sons Ted and Tom; grandson Hunter Nix; granddaughter Jade Nix; brothers Randy, Bruce, Byron, and George Banks; sisters Melinda Banks, Melissa Hudson, Megan Caskey and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents Cordelia and Theodore Banks Sr.; stepmother Mary Belle Banks; sisters Maggie Hernandez and Molly Jones.

Ted grew up in Southern California and graduated from Mark Keppel High School, Mt. San Antonio Community College and UCLA. He ran cross country and track at all three schools, distinguishing himself and earning numerous honors. This experience led him into a career as an educator and coach. Ted began his career at Alhambra High School in 1959, followed by subsequent track and cross country coaching positions at La Puente High School, La Habra High School, Pasadena City College, San Jose State University, Mount Miguel High School, and Long Beach State University before becoming the Director of Track and Field at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). While at UTEP from 1973 to 1981, Ted's teams won 17 NCAA Championships (six cross country, six indoor track and five outdoor track) and 27 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships, his athletes distinguishing themselves as individual NCAA champions 47 times and earning 189 All-American honors. Those NCAA team championships include the 1981 cross country title, in which the Miners set a record-low score of 17, only two points shy of a "perfect" team score, and Triple Crowns (winning the cross country, indoor and outdoor track titles in a single academic year) in 1979-80 and 1980-81.

From 1982 to 1988, Ted served as the national Director of Running Promotions for Converse, helping to develop the company's first line of running shoes and directing promotions at major track meets, road races, marathons, and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, for which Converse was an official sponsor. His last professional coaching endeavor was at Riverside Community College where he coached the Tigers to six state and twelve conference championships form 1988 to 1994. After retiring, Ted continued to coach a number of young athletes and mentor high school and college coaches. He has been inducted into the Alhambra High School Athletic Hall of Fame, the Riverside Community College Athletic Hall of Fame, the University of Texas at El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame, the United States Track Coaches Hall of Fame, the UTEP Track Hall of Fame, and the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 16, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. at Turrentine Jackson Morrow Funeral Home in Allen, Texas. The family suggests memorial contributions may be made to www.HomeHospice.org or to a charity of your choice. Online condolences may be offered at wwwTJMfuneral.com.

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