Henry F Ruiz's Obituary
Henry Ruiz (aka Tedd Webb), age 72, passed away on March 30, 2021. Born in Ybor City and raised in West Tampa, he was preceded in death by his parents Candida “Cusa” Ruiz and Liborio Ruiz, his sister Dora Ruiz Baray and niece Aileen Cano Alvarez. He is survived by his wife Zoila Fernandez, daughter Mandi Houston (Derek), sons Nick Ruiz (Rachel) and Lee Ruiz, grandchildren Mikayla, Amelia, Michael, Blake and Aimee, his sister Violet Ruiz McGimsey, nieces Vivian Cano Leto (Frank), Terri Zapata (Guillermo) and nephew Brian McGimsey (Samantha), with several great nieces and great nephews.
Henry was a legendary Tampa Bay area radio and television broadcaster known professionally as “Tedd Webb”. He retired due to illness in January 2018 after a 55 year career. Henry worked at some of the most iconic radio stations in the Tampa Bay market from WRBQ /Q-105 as an original member of “The Q-Morning Zoo”, to Newsradio 970-WFLA, where he hosted “The Sports Huddle” show before being teamed up with another Tampa Bay legend Jack Harris, as co-host of “AM Tampa Bay”. Even after retirement he was still a part of the morning show with his “Webb’s World” commentaries. His career also had him at WLCY, WFSO and WALT Radio (where he got his start at the age of 14), as well at WDAE and WPLP. He also worked radio in the state of Michigan while serving in the United States Air Force at WSOO in Sault Sainte Marie and WIDG in St. Ignace. His broadcast career included television, where for 8 years he hosted the “Sports Rap” call-in show on WFTS -Channel 28 and he appeared on various programs on both broadcast /cable channels. Henry voiced many documentaries produced by the City of Tampa and by the Creative on Main Street Productions.
Henry was the recipient of numerous awards during his career, including the prestigious "Communicator of The Year" from Toastmasters International and the “Hispanic Heritage Man of The Year in Media for 2001”. Both he and Jack Harris were also Finalists for enshrinement into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2018 and we wish that he would have lived to see this come true and hope that one day soon this will happen. He enjoyed several other entertainment careers, starting with his involvement as a professional wrestling manager as well as an announcer alongside his cousin Mark Beiro. He went on to write songs with Detroit Tigers’ broadcast legend Ernie Harwell and for Tampa’s Mike Pinera and “The Blues Image” rock band. We can’t forget that he was also the owner (and master) of the famous “Fart Bag”!
Henry was an avid photographer, who once owned “Tedd Webb’s East 7th Avenue Studios” in Ybor City and he also released two books, a black and white coffee table art book titled "Butt of Course", a black & white tribute to Woman, and the trivia book (based on his Rack Your Brain segments on AM Tampa Bay) titled “Tedd Webb’s Trivia”. He was a fantastic bowler who organized many bowling leagues over the years in Tampa and Brandon and was also a long-time member of the Suncoast Football League for APBA Football Board Games, where his Port Tampa Massacre team won 3 league championships and the United Suncoast Football League where his West Tampa Bandits won another 2 championships.
Henry loved to cook and loved Karaoke even more, hosting many singing parties. He even formed two karaoke groups, “The Fumunda All-Stars” and the “West Tampa Four -WTF” with the late great Joe Lala, Brenda Ayala and Tony Garcia. His love of karaoke led to the many “Koncert 4 Kidz” events raising money for Pediatric Cancer Research. He also supported Metropolitan Ministries and various local charities around the Tampa Bay area, volunteering his time for fundraising. He was the Master of Ceremonies for many events including the annual City of Tampa Hispanic Heritage Celebration and even hosted a telethon to help raise funds for Tampa Catholic High School back in the 1980s.
Wherever his career took him, West Tampa would always be home. His lifelong childhood friendships were shaped by his many years as a member of the West Tampa Boy’s Club and those friendships continued until today as a member of the International Brotherhood of Chulos. As a child he attended the Rosa Valdez Settlement on Albany Street and then he became a proud alum and supporter of St. Joseph’s Catholic School in West Tampa. He was also very proud to be a graduate of Jefferson High School (Dragons’ c/o 1967) and in 2002, he was bestowed the honor of induction into the Jefferson High School Hall of Fame. There is no doubt that Henry Ruiz will live on in the many ways for years to come.
The family wishes to thank Nurse Pat and Nurse Patricia for the care extended to Henry in his final days. Above all else we want you to remember that Henry Ruiz loved his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his sisters Dora and Violet, his family and dear friends. He was loyal to a fault and always made you smile or laugh. He was a Catholic by faith with a deep love and trust in God. He was Tampa born and raised and proud of it. He gave everything he had, his very best, to the city he loved and called home. We miss him so much already for we know that there will never be another like him. Henry aka Tedd Webb, you truly “Lived it up!”
Please Note: At the family’s request, funeral services will be limited in crowd size due to the on-going Covid -19 Pandemic. The burial service will be private. There are preliminary plans being discussed for a public celebration of his life at a later date. We thank you for the many calls, E-Mails, Facebook posts and text messages over the past several days. We know that he was loved by many, so in lieu of flowers here are charities and organizations where a contribution can be made in Henry’s memory:
-National Pediatric Cancer Foundation: 5550 Executive Dr #200, Tampa, FL 33609
https://nationalpcf.org/donate/
-Metropolitan Ministries: 2002 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33602 (Tax ID: 59-1477007)
-St. Joseph’s Catholic School: 2200 N. Gomez Ave, Tampa, FL 33607
-Jefferson High Alumni Scholarship Program: c/o Belinda Llanes, 3323 W. Cordelia, Tampa, FL 33607
https://www.jeffersondragonalumni.org/
-Roza Valdez Early Learning Center: 1802 N. Albany Ave, Tampa, FL 33607
https://cornerstonefamilyministries.org/rosavaldezelc/
-Boys & Girls Club of Tampa Bay: 1307 N. MacDill Ave, Tampa, FL 33607
-The Humane Society of Tampa Bay: 3607 N Armenia Ave, Tampa, FL 33607
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