On Sunday, June 7th we lost our “Southernmost Ted”, but only to this world as his eternal life began with Jesus. He was 53 years old.

Aaron Theodore Messimer was born September 15, 1972 in Jackson, Michigan, living in Brooklyn, Michigan as a child. But like so many others before him, he raced for the warmth and sunshine of Key West and got here as soon as he could.

Ted enjoyed and thrived on ALL our island has to offer. Living “downtown” gave him the ability to walk everywhere, talk to friends along the path and enjoy the island vibe, each and every day. He loved biking around the island, kayaking the ocean, going to State Parks, especially our own Fort Zachary Taylor here in Key West. He would leave island to zip line, do recreational courses and his annual hikes in the mountains.

For his career in radio he was known as “Ted Riley” for WKHQ in Traverse, Michigan and later became known as DJ Finz when he mixed records at bars and night clubs in Orlando. Later he became a trainer for Universal Studios where he fought both King Kong and JAWS park rides. Moving along Ted became a manager at the Key Lime Pie Bakery in Key West until he moved into his most treasured role as a Ghost Hunter, a role which gained him thousands of fans and followers. Not one to be content, our Southernmost Ted became an author of NINE books. He was a story teller and entertainer, and he loved EVERY minute of it.

Although Ted attended Specs Howard Arts in Media for Radio and Broadcasting he was a life long University of Michigan fan. Once moving to Key West he became a huge NASCAR fan, his favorite driver being Kyle Bush who sadly passed just 17 days before him.

Precious few knew he loved poetry and Shakespeare but he made little effort to hide the fact he didn’t care for television as a rule. The exception to this being streaming shows and documentaries in the past year to help him pass the time which gave him even more to talk to his friends about as most of us had been watching these shows for years!

If you knew Ted for long you knew he could be funny, but not necessarily intentionally. He’d get a laugh out of you by the way he would respond to something or tell a story and if you laughed out loud his smile became as big as though he planned it all along. The same people would agree he could be quirky and blunt. This and a few other things are what made him unique, and that he was. Ted beat to his own drum, which we believe allowed him to push himself to accomplish all he did. He had a great joy for life, even after his diagnosis of his glioblastoma, almost four years ago. He was given the gift of time most with this tragic diagnosis don’t have. He used his time after two brain surgeries, a back surgery, radiation and chemotherapy to continue his love of Ghost Hunting and authored two more books! Time was not wasted. He became a “Glio Warrior” on Tik Tok, truly helping people he’d never met who either battling the disease or had a loved one who was and most lost along the way. He kept being positive even after he had to leave Key West for care in a beautiful facility in Central Florida. He lost 98% of his right side to paralysis, a symptom of the disease, and continued rolling around the grounds of his new home using his electric wheelchair. He had the codes to all the doors which most “residents” didn’t have the luxury of, of course this made him feel special. Because he was. He was like the Mayor of the facility; staff, residents, visiting family members, all high fiving him along his “ride”, during the day, acknowledging the fight he held inside to stay positive and live the best he could given his circumstances. He didn’t forget the names of these new friends and tried to be happy even through his own prognosis. Ted kept his spirits as high as a person possibly could given the situation.

Ted gave it his all. But he also was tired and said many times in the past couple of months, “I am ready to see Jesus”. He knew where he was going, he was prepared and more than ready. Although our hearts already miss him, we cannot deny the joy of knowing he is now whole and truly living his eternal life in a place words cannot describe.

Ted was predeceased by his maternal grandparents Vince & Ginny Dietrick, paternal grandparents William and Evelyn Messimer and most recently his father Roger Messimer. Left to mourn his loss are his mother Bonnie, his sister Sarah, his nephews Noah and Jonah, his brother Guy, as well as many cousins, aunts and uncles. His Island Friends over the past 22 years became his family who loved, nurtured, encouraged and cared for him, especially these past four years, and more specifically the last six months. The honor wasn’t wasted. Southernmost Ted has officially left the island and will be greatly missed.