His father, Diedrich Rohlfs, died as a result of a fall from a hay wagon. His mother later married Carl Rurode. As was customary in that day, Theodore and his sister Mary took his last name, without formal adoption.

He served in the Army in World War I, and was in the Army of Occupation in Germany at the end of that war. His sister said he would seldom talk about that time but had told of being billeted in a German home. Since he spoke German, they tried to tell her how to make them a raisin pie. The lady unhappily put all the ingredients in a big pot atop the stove and boiled them together! Once they had enjoyed steak and Ted had complimented her on the good "cow meat" to which she replied, Oh, no that was horse meat.

One bad memory was of his group being marched across one of the big rivers and were stopped and told to march in time. Their captain went into the town to find where they were to stay. When he didn't come back for a long time, the second in command went into the town only to find the captain in a bar drinking. He dragged him back to the river bridge and shot him. According to Ted's story, each soldier stepped on his body as they marched on across.

As a result of having frozen feet from this occurrence, his youngest sister said in the winters in Iowa, he could wring blood out of his socks. Apparentsly, he could stand the somewhat drier winters in South Dakota which is where he lived the rest of his life. He worked for his brother Otto and spent some time in the Veterans home nearly.

His niece, Lila, recalls that he was a gentle man who read bedtime stories to her when she was a small child.

Upon his death, his three sisters went by bus to Woonsocket, SD for his funeral.