Ted Sullivan Edward John " Ted " Sullivan was a confectionery salesman for Cartwright ' s and husband of Doris Sullivan . Ted and Doris had no children and lived in a big house at 16 Highbank Avenue , Oakhill . Some years before 1992 , Doris drowned in a fishing accident . As he approached retirement age , Ted had a number of health problems . He had an operation to remove a brain tumour but was warned that should he develop another tumour , nothing could be done . A second brain tumour did in fact follow , and although Ted consulted a number of specialists , the prognosis remained that it would be fatal and he had a few years at most . Ted decided to enjoy his last days and made plans to retire , arranging for his nephew Roger Brookes to replace him at work as Roger had followed him into the sales business . His retirement caught the attention of job - seeking salesman Derek Wilton , who invited him to a meal with the intent of putting himself forward for Ted ' s job . It was here that Ted first met Rita Fairclough , who got talking to him when Derek ' s hopes of a job were dashed . They went on a few dates together and Ted found that Rita made him happy . He told her he was thinking of moving to Florida and asked her to marry him so they could retire there together . Rita was going to refuse at first as it hadn ' t been long since they met and Ted wasn ' t the passionate type she usually favoured , but she then changed her mind and told him she would marry him . Ted helped Rita organise the sale of 7 Coronation Street and The Kabin and the couple went to Florida to look for a house there . On their return , Ted told Rita about his brain tumour and offered her the chance to back out of their engagement if it was too much for her . Rita felt angry as she thought she ' d found happiness for the rest of her life , and she and Ted avoided each other for a short time , although once she came to terms with it , Rita decided that she would still marry Ted , but stipulated that they didn ' t move to Florida as she wanted to have her friends around her when Ted died . Ted understood and accepted . Over the next few months , Ted started exhibiting more symptoms of his illness . On the day of the wedding , Ted saw a doctor for numb hands and was told he wouldn ' t be able to drive again . Their register office wedding was witnessed by Derek and Mavis Wilton , Bet Gilroy , and Alf and Audrey Roberts . Rita had told Audrey about the brain tumour but no one else . As time went on , and Ted moved into Rita ' s flat , his health deteriorated and when he slurred his speech , Rita tried to cover for him but Derek came away with the idea that Ted was an alcoholic . Bet too was worried as she ' d noticed Rita ' s sadness and was cool towards Ted , thinking he might have married Rita for her money . Rita persuaded Ted to tell the Wiltons but he was guarded where his illness was concerned , and hadn ' t even told his sister , Sarah Brookes . He didn ' t like Rita fussing and insisted on doing the gardening at his house while it was up for sale . However , he made some concessions to Rita , as she got so worried when he went on a long walk without telling her that she made him agree to phone her regularly to put her mind at ease . A short time later , he was found slumped in an alley and taken to hospital . His disappearance had panicked Rita , who reported him as a missing person . On one occasion , he had a memory lapse and thought Rita was Doris . After a difficult few weeks , Ted died on 9th September 1992 while sat on a bench at Weatherfield Bowling Green watching a match between Percy Sugden and Cyril Jukes . Rita found him asleep but quickly realised he was dead . Ted was cremated and had arranged his own funeral . He left £2 , 000 to Sarah , £1 , 000 each to Roger and Philip Brookes , and the rest of his estate to Rita , including the house .