Horace Ted Dalme

Horace Ted Dalme, age 98, passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of Sunday, March 8, 2026. Though his body had grown tired, his mind remained strong until the very end. After years of struggling to keep his legs working and body moving, he has now gone home to be reunited with the love of his life and his sons.

Ted was born on September 9, 1927, in Natchitoches, Louisiana, to Lawrence and Lillie Dalme. His family heritage traces back to Pézilla-la-Rivière in the south of France, where his grandparents, Joseph and Rose Dalme, immigrated to the United States aboard the ship Marseille, arriving at the Port of New Orleans on December 14, 1887. They carried with them determination, faith, and the old-world farming traditions of southern France. After arriving in Louisiana, the Dalme family settled on the land and began building their lives in America. Nearly a century later, Ted still owned that very property where his family first put down roots. The land, the traditions, and the pride in hard work never left him.

As a young man, Ted left Louisiana and moved to Texas to pursue work in the growing refinery industry in the Houston area. For many years he worked as a millwright at the Rohm and Haas plant in Deer Park and Enterprise Products in Mont Belvieu. When his sons were young, he moved his family to Crosby, Texas, where he built the home where his family would grow, nail by nail, with his own hands. Ted was married to the love of his life, Mary Louise Dalme, for 64 wonderful years. Together they raised two sons, James Dalme and Kenneth Dalme. The family endured unimaginable tragedy when Kenneth passed away at the age of 17, and years later when James passed away in May of 2021. Despite these profound losses, Ted continued forward with quiet strength, resilience, and faith.

Ted is survived by his grandchildren, James “Bo” Dalme and Summer Dalme Braden and her husband Kyle; great-grandchildren Maddie Baggett and her husband Brantley, Evan Wischnewsky, and Lundyn Braden; and his great-great-grandson, Kayce Baggett, expected in June of 2026. He is also survived by his nephew Leslie Dalme and his wife Kat, Charles and Amber Dalme, Dene and Vic Milton, Linda Dalme and Harvey Futrell. Ted had a deep love for the land and the simple, honest things in life. Gardening, cooking, farming, and spending time on his tractor brought him the most joy. Even in his later years, he could still find a way to climb up onto the tractor seat. He lived a long and meaningful life filled with family, faith, hard work, and tradition. The strength, traditions, and legacy he carried from a small village in southern France to the farmland of Louisiana and the home he built in Crosby, Texas, will live on through the family he leaves behind.