Remembering Ted Salazar, a Good Neighbor

by B. Griffith, Reston resident

Teddy and Maria, cutting the ribbon on the Ted Salazar Memorial Bench. Photo by B. Griffith

On a warm, sunny Sunday morning in Mediterranean Villa Cluster, neighbors gathered to honor a founding member and dedicate a restored park bench in his memory.

Ted Salazar was an original member of Reston's Mediterranean Villa Cluster Association (MVC) when it was established in 1970 and lived there until shortly before his death in 2024. Over the decades, he quietly served his neighbors through hands-on landscaping, roof repairs and stewardship of the cluster's history.

One of several artists who has called MVC home over the years, Ted also led the effort to expand the cluster's color palette beyond the original "Reston brown," navigating the Reston Design Review Board process to introduce the varied colors that today give the neighborhood more of a Mediterranean character.

Ted's daughter, Maria, son Teddy, daughter-in-law Sarah Meyer and granddaughter Izzy participated in the event, with three family members traveling from North Carolina. Sarah grew up next door to Teddy in MVC.

Jeanette Schnieders, MVC's longtime treasurer, first suggested creating a memorial for Ted several years ago. Schnieders, who moved to the cluster in 1994 and relocated to Minneapolis in 2025, returned for the dedication. She reflected on serving alongside Ted on the board, their work expanding the neighborhood's color palette and what she discovered while reviewing early association records: the full extent of his service during MVC's formative years, much of it quiet and unrecognized.

Testing the bench. Clockwise from top: Maria, Teddy, Izzy, Sarah. Photo by B. Griffith

Past president Joe Minarik recalled Ted's many contributions, including roof repairs, landscaping, watercolor illustrations created for the Design Review Board process and artwork for the community newsletter.

In MVC's early years, 25 to 30 children lived in the neighborhood, and the center of the cluster served as their playground. Those energetic youngsters didn't make Ted's job maintaining the grounds any easier.

Marc Kaufmann, who grew up in MVC and returned to his childhood home in 2025, recalled his respect for "Mr. Salazar" and how he worried about getting into trouble for trampling the landscaping while playing. Maria Salazar and Sarah Meyer shared memories of neighborhood games such as Red Rover and Sardines, along with Halloween parades through the center of the cluster. Several people also remembered the crab apple trees that once lined the property and how children batted, tossed and flung the fruit against the stucco walls, leaving Ted to clean up the mess.

After sharing coffee, pastries and strawberries, participants walked to a shady spot along the central path for the dedication of the bench in Ted's honor. MVC member Chris Demopoulos rebuilt the bench using white oak, preserving the original cast-iron hardware, and installed a commemorative plaque. Maria Salazar and Teddy Salazar cut the ribbon, and Teddy remarked that rebuilding the bench instead of replacing it was exactly what his father would have wanted.

Today, MVC contracts out its landscape maintenance but remains one of the few self-managed homeowners associations in Reston.