One year later, friends, family remember Teddy

LIBERTY

Photographs of a smiling, laughing Teddy Foltz-Tedesco form a collage in front of the altar at Northside Baptist Church at Teddy’s Memorial Service Sunday.

That’s how those who loved the 14-year-old boy who died Jan. 26, 2013, five days after being beaten by his mother’s then-boyfriend, want to remember Teddy.

“Please remember him the way he would want us to remember him, as a kind-hearted child who always cared for others,” said Shawn Tedesco, Teddy’s father.

Teddy loved the Pittsburgh Steelers, history and talking about U.S. presidents. He loved to go to church and he was a hero to his younger brothers, whom he protected, Tedesco said.

The memorial at the Goldie Road Church had been scheduled for Jan. 26, the one-year anniversary of Teddy’s death, but was rescheduled because of the cold.

Tedesco said he wants something good to come from his son’s death. He’s working to form the Team Teddy Foundation, which will work to raise awareness of child abuse, how to report it and the ways to help children.

He’s also advocating Teddy’s Law, legislation that would make it illegal for a parent to pull a child from school during an open child protection case, stiffen penalties for torturing a child and other changes to protect children. A Facebook page has been set up, titled Teddy’s Law, to inform others.

For more on the memorial and Teddy, read Sunday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.