Tedesco, Dr. Paul H. passed away on November 3 at the age of 90. Paul was a well-known local historian, author, and Dover resident. Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, he was raised in Newton and graduated from Phillips Academy Andover. Dr. Tedesco received an A.B. in history from Harvard University, A.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Boston University, and a CAGS in Administration from Northeastern University. His primary field of study was business and American history.
After graduating college, Paul felt the call of military service in defense of his country, so he became a combat/infantryman with 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division of the United States Regular Army and served in Korea from 1952 to 1954 as Intelligence and Reconnaissance NCO. After leaving the army, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army Intelligence Reserve. He was very proud of serving in combat and being a veteran.
After Korea, Paul began his life-long passion as a teacher and began a career as a humanities instructor at Michigan State University. Eventually he became a professor and chairman of education at Northeastern University becoming professor emeritus. He was honored to be a Fulbright professor of history at Peking University, Beijing, China and experienced the Tiananmen Square uprising. He advised many of the students at Peking University on establishing a democracy. Paul ended his teaching career by becoming adjunct professor and education coordinator for the University of Maryland University College European and Asian Divisions. There were many times when he was teaching young men and women that were stationed on the front lines. He retired from teaching in 2014 at the age of 85.
Paul loved history. He was the Dover Town Historian and had an in-depth knowledge about the history of the towns of Massachusetts. Paul authored a number of books and articles on the iron and steel industry, case studies of major companies, education, and industrial decline. He also authored books on the Massachusetts towns of Haverhill, Attleboro, Canton, and Dover. With his son James, he authored a book on the prefabricated Hodgson houses of the thirties and another, Postcard History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He was director of BHelp (History and Economic Life Programs). At various times he held officer positions in organizations including being president of the Bay State Historical League, president of the New England Teachers Association, president of the Dover Historical Society, trustee of Economic Education Council of Massachusetts and the New Hampshire Council on Economic Education, Executive Board member of the Committee on History in the Classroom. His membership in honor societies included Phi Delta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta, and Kappa Delta Phi. He is to receive two posthumous awards: The Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Recognition and a Dover Historical Commission Award.
Paul was the beloved son of the late Serafino Regin and Ruth (Weaver) of Newton. He was the loving husband of Eleanor (Hollis) Tedesco and together they enjoyed teaching, writing, traveling, and such activities as playing bridge, scrabble, dancing, and watching English mysteries on TV. He was her mentor. He was the devoted father to Steven A. Tedesco, Ph.D. of Centennial, Colorado, Sara Tedesco Tagget and husband David of Ellicott City, Maryland, the late James B. Tedesco, survived by wife Maria Tedesco, and the late Timothy H. Tedesco. The children remember his driving them every day to their respective schools and activities and at the same time giving them fatherly advice. He encouraged their reading, education, and involvement in music, sports, and history, taking them to places of interest and even building a skating rink for them. Children Sara and Jim spent time living and working at known historical sites, such as Plimoth Plantation and Sabbathday Lake Shakers in Maine. He thoroughly enjoyed his role as grandfather to Trevor Tedesco and his wife Lacey, Caitlin (Tedesco) Oster and husband Matthew, Cassie Tedesco, Blake Tagget and wife Savannah, Leah Tedesco, Olivia Tedesco, and the late Katrina Tagget. He loved to take them on trips to places that interested them. They remember especially how great a storyteller he was and how he gave them career advice. Lastly, he is survived by his dear great grandchildren Portland Oster and Elleora Oster. They became the joy of the last days of his life. Although not a dog owner, Koda, the little dachshund, became a special friend.
A memorial service commemorating Paul H. Tedesco’s life will be held in the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 79 Denton St., Wellesley, on Friday, November 15 at 10:00 a.m. Relatives and friends are welcome to attend. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Paul’s memory to the Sabbathday Lake Shakers, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, Maine 04260, where he was a trustee and a friend of the Shakers for many years. Maineshakers.com/donate