John Tiedtke

Personal life His parents were Ernest Tiedtke (1872–1950) and Anna Marie "Mamie" Meyer Tiedtke (1878–1981), of Toledo, Ohio. The state became his home as an adult.

In 1948, he was married to Sylvia Southard, daughter of Prince and Princess Alfred of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst ( Felicitas von Schoeller) of Streinach, Austria, and the late James Wendell Southard. of 55 years.

John's father, Ernest, had been a farmer before starting the grocery chain, and with the help of family money John went into the farming business too. After World War II, he did not enlist due to a bad knee, he was hired by Rollins College to teach returning soldiers business classes. In October 1945, he testified before the Committee on Appropriations of the United States Congress about the availability of migrant labor on sugar plantations. He patented a cane loading and chopping machine.

Tiedtke was a philanthropist and patron of the arts. He is noted for championing and supporting various fine arts programs in Central Florida including the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and the Enzian Theater. He was instrumental in funding a unique film festival. In 1949, "Tiedtke breathed life into the Florida Symphony Orchestra" and was a founding member. He devoted 20 years to being on the Board of Directors of Rollins College.

Legacy

Upon his death, the Orlando Sentinel wrote, "The arts in Central Florida lost a giant on Tuesday. He created wealth by investing in sugar, citrus and corn farms on land near Lake Okeechobee. Land companies, development companies, Shawnee Cattle and Atlas Sugar were among his holdings. But it was what he did with that wealth that has had so much impact. He spent millions bringing music, film, and art to his adopted home of Central Florida."

Tiedtke established the John M. Tiedtke Endowed Chair of Music funded in part by an anonymous $250,000 donation from Fred Rogers, who was TV's Mister Rogers and alumni of Rollins.

The Tiedtke family's mausoleum is in Section 42 at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio.

In 2019, in honor of the fifteenth anniversary of his passing, a memorial concert was dedicated to him at the Bach Festival Society, along with other memorial events in Winter Park.