Sept. 2, 1928 – Dec. 22, 2011

NATCHEZ — Graveside services for Theodore William Ammon, 83, of Natchez, who died of heart failure on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, in Starkville, will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Natchez City Cemetery under the direction of Baldwin-Lee Funeral Home.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until noon at the funeral home in Pearl.

Mr. Ammon was born Sept. 2, 1928, the son of U.T. Ammon and Euna Lee Ammon..

Mr. Ammon grew up in Natchez and discovered his talent for music in the ninth-grade when Harry King Barth, a legend in jazz during the Big Band era, recruited him to play bass fiddle. Mr. Ammon played jazz gigs with The Southernairs for four years in the Natchez area. The group was made up of Mr. Ammon, who was known as “T.W.” at the time, as well as Tex Reed, Brother O’Farrell, Bill LaMound, Dr. Charlie Borum and Blake Wadsworth. Mr. Ammon graduated from Natchez High School in 1946 but continued to meet up with The Southernairs every year for an annual performance.

After his high school graduation, Mr. Ammon joined the Army Air Corps. He proudly served his country as an air traffic controller in the South Pacific in New Guinea and remained in the reserves until he was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force in 1952.

Upon completion of his active duty military service, Mr. Ammon attended the University of Mississippi, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, on the G.I. bill. Mr. Ammon played bass in the jazz band and played with the Dick Callaway Orchestra while at Ole Miss on a band scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music in 1952 and began his teaching career. He later completed his Master of Arts in Music at Jackson State University in the 1970s.

Mr. Ammon served as a band director for Amory High School from 1952 until 1955, Cleveland High School from 1955 until 1968, McComb Junior High School from 1968 until 1974 and Pearl Junior High School from 1974 until 1990. During Mr. Ammon’s tenure at Pearl Junior High, he gave private music lessons every summer and after retirement at Ball’s Music Store in Pearl. During his career, he also served as the coordinator of fine arts for a three-county area, with his office in McComb. Mr. Ammon helped direct the award-winning Mississippi Lions All-State Band on a European tour in the 1950s. He was also president of Phi Beta Mu, International Band Masters’ Fraternity). Many will remember his devotion to Boy Scouts as a young Eagle Scout. Mr Ammon also served as a staff member at Camp Kickapoo in the 1950s and Scout Master for Troop 124 of McComb.

Mr. Ammon was the founder and director of Mississippi Junior High Band Camp, also known as Camp Beaver. This summer camp was held at Percy Quinn State Park in McComb for one week each summer from 1973-1998. The camp combined rigorous music education with outdoor fun. Mr. Ammon, who was known by the parents and campers as “Fearless Leader,” shared his love of music during these summers and entertained the campers with his great sense of humor and his unmatched story-telling skills. Camp Beaver was also his chance to show off his vintage red ambulance and its working siren. Much to the delight of the campers, the siren from that old ambulance was used to roust the kids from their beds for years.

Mr. Ammon was an avid water skier, duck hunter and fisherman. He also collected stamps, coins, guns, magazines and music. He enjoyed painting abstract oil paintings and played a number of instruments but enjoyed the clarinet most in his later years. The children he taught always enjoyed hearing him play the piano, and the piano seemed to showcase his talents and his personality in equal measure.

Mr. Ammon, who was known to his friends over the years as “Gugam,” “T.W.” and “Fearless Leader,” dedicated his life to music and music education and was an inspiration to everyone who knew him. He will be remembered as adventurous, funny, generous and perhaps most of all as talented. Mr. Ammon was loved and admired by so many and will be greatly missed by those whose lives he touched. He will, however, live on in our hearts and memories forever.

Mr. Ammon was preceded in death by his parents.

Survivors include his loving and devoted friends, Blake Wadsworth of Natchez, Jimmy Ervin of Boyle, Joe Daniel, of Universal City, Texas, Leroy Smith of McComb, Phillip Ball of Pearl and Jay Edwards, of Brandon.

Pallbearers will be Jim Ervin, Jimmy Ervin, Leroy Smith, Wayne Edwards and Jay Edwards.

Honorary pallbearer will be Blake Wadsworth.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the March of Dimes.