Columbia crash victim a dedicated teacher

Theodore P. Schiros was recalled Tuesday as a teacher who was strongly interested in helping his students and the community, colleagues at Herkimer County Community College said.

"This is what he did," said John Cook, Schiros' officemate. "If he wasn't sleeping, he was teaching. When he didn't have to be there - he was."

Schiros, an instructor of information science and computer network at HCCC, was killed in a one-car accident Monday night in the town of Columbia, state police said.

Schiros, 41, of Leonardsville, also taught as an adjunct professor at SUNYIT in Marcy and Utica College.

Cook said Schiros touched the lives of so many students that he spent most of Tuesday fielding calls from people across the state.

"This really is a loss that will never be recovered from," said Cook, who has been an instructor of information science at HCCC for eight years. "He was a teacher and a friend and a good colleague, he really was. And not just to me, but to everyone."

Schiros was traveling north on Elizabethtown Road around 10:20 p.m. Monday, police said.

He failed to keep right in his 2003 Ford Windstar, and the vehicle exited the road over the west shoulder before striking three mailboxes and a tree, troopers said.

Schiros was pronounced dead by Herkimer County Coroner Dan Enea, police said. An autopsy was conducted Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, but the results were not available.

The news came as a shock to the HCCC community, where Schiros began teaching in 2004, said Michael Oriolo, associate dean of academic affairs.

Schiros, who was commonly referred to as "Ted," was very student-oriented, Oriolo said.

"He was very easy-going and approachable," he said. "He was putting the students first. He was excited about technology. He loved to solve problems, loved mathematics and loved to teach it."

Schiros formerly taught at Utica School of Commerce. He had an associate's degree from Westchester Community College and a bachelor's and master's degree from SUNYIT.

Rosemary Mullick, interim vice president for academic affairs at SUNYIT, said Schiros was a student of hers before joining the faculty part-time. She described him as a responsible student who conducted himself the same way as a teacher.

"He was very well-liked by the students, and his classes were always filled," Mullick said.

HCCC officials said Schiros is survived by his parents, who live in Westchester County, and four children, Kristina, 15, Nikolas, 13, Benjamin, 11, and Alexander, 8. Funeral arrangements could not be learned Tuesday.

HCCC is planning a campus memorial service that will likely take place March 27, school officials said. The campus flag is at half-staff in his memory, they said. SUNYIT officials said they, too, are planning to honor Schiros.

One HCCC student who contributed to an online memorial said Schiros had high expectations of his students because he knew their potential.

"If people can't learn what Ted is trying to teach them, then they'll never learn it elsewhere," the statement read. "Ted is just that good of a teacher."

Cook, who was not only Schiros' officemate, but a personal friend, agreed.

"That's Ted," Cook replied after the statement was read to him. "That's what we work for."

Observer-Dispatch