Ironically, Todd and I did not get to know each other and become really great friends until a couple of years after graduation, though we often seemed to move among many common circles of acquaintances in high school. Anyone who took the time to engage Todd intellectually could easily ascertain not only his depth and intelligence, but also his seemingly endless wit and off-color sense of humor. Our friendship always seemed to revolve around that type of humor and especially the great outdoors; he definitely felt most in his element being someplace outside doing something that represented a challenge. I kayaked nearly every major rapid of every major river for the first time with Todd. We road-tripped our early and mid-20's all over the place seeking the next big adventure (and we always seemed to find one). Although our lives put a geographic wedge between us when I moved out West in 2002, we always stayed in close contact. He made it out to see me in 2005 and it was an immense joy for me to see Todd's reaction to his first exposure to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (as well as all of the open spaces and mountain ranges in central Idaho). Todd stayed in the Springfield area after high school and was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) for most of his adult life; working in various Springfield/Clark County long-term care facilities taking care of senior citizens. He truly loved that patient population and was quite gifted in the art of conversation--they always seemed to dig his stage presence (didn't we all?). At the time of his death, he was in the midst of making a career change to truck driving and was almost done with a CDL course. I suppose he was suffering from a bit of burn-out with the healthcare field and just wanted to do something different for a living. I doubt Todd would care what anyone else thought anyway, but I want everyone who reads this to know that the wreck that ended his life was not intentional nor was it drug or alcohol related, period--that is the documented and official word. However, we will never know exactly what happened...was he fussing with his cell phone/texting, changing the radio station, avoiding an animal in the road? There is no way to know. He was not wearing a seatbelt, beyond that I have no idea what happened. I talked to him literally hours before the event. My son was born just 2 days before Todd's passing and I was not able to make it to the funeral. Just remind yourself periodically that life is fragile and conduct yourself accordingly when it matters (i.e. behind the wheel). I know that Todd was cremated and that 1/2 of his ashes are interred in a cemetery with a headstone--not sure where--sorry, I just don't do cemeteries. The other 1/2 of his ashes was dispersed at/into Fayette Station Rapid on the New River in New River Gorge , WV according to his wishes. Fayette Station is the last rapid on the most popular section of the New River Gorge most people raft or kayak. If you ever find yourself there, there is a somewhat old and not too large suspension bridge that crosses the river inside the gorge, I think the smaller bridge may be visible from the huge and famous New River Gorge bridge on U.S. 19--Todd's ashes were spread near the smaller bridge. Todd is survived by his parents, Jerry and Linda, as well as his daughter (and consequently the light of his life), Autumn Laurel Ferguson, not to mention the countless friends he made along the way. Todd was a great dad, a great friend, and a stellar human being...I will always remember him as such.
Anna Bucy
Here is the link to Todd's obituaryhttps://www.legacy.com/springfield/Obituaries.asp?Page=ObitFinderOrder&PersonID=108724560
Bryan Haught
Ironically, Todd and I did not get to know each other and become really great friends until a couple of years after graduation, though we often seemed to move among many common circles of acquaintances in high school. Anyone who took the time to engage Todd intellectually could easily ascertain not only his depth and intelligence, but also his seemingly endless wit and off-color sense of humor. Our friendship always seemed to revolve around that type of humor and especially the great outdoors; he definitely felt most in his element being someplace outside doing something that represented a challenge. I kayaked nearly every major rapid of every major river for the first time with Todd. We road-tripped our early and mid-20's all over the place seeking the next big adventure (and we always seemed to find one). Although our lives put a geographic wedge between us when I moved out West in 2002, we always stayed in close contact. He made it out to see me in 2005 and it was an immense joy for me to see Todd's reaction to his first exposure to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (as well as all of the open spaces and mountain ranges in central Idaho).Todd stayed in the Springfield area after high school and was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) for most of his adult life; working in various Springfield/Clark County long-term care facilities taking care of senior citizens. He truly loved that patient population and was quite gifted in the art of conversation--they always seemed to dig his stage presence (didn't we all?). At the time of his death, he was in the midst of making a career change to truck driving and was almost done with a CDL course. I suppose he was suffering from a bit of burn-out with the healthcare field and just wanted to do something different for a living. I doubt Todd would care what anyone else thought anyway, but I want everyone who reads this to know that the wreck that ended his life was not intentional nor was it drug or alcohol related, period--that is the documented and official word. However, we will never know exactly what happened...was he fussing with his cell phone/texting, changing the radio station, avoiding an animal in the road? There is no way to know. He was not wearing a seatbelt, beyond that I have no idea what happened. I talked to him literally hours before the event. My son was born just 2 days before Todd's passing and I was not able to make it to the funeral. Just remind yourself periodically that life is fragile and conduct yourself accordingly when it matters (i.e. behind the wheel). I know that Todd was cremated and that 1/2 of his ashes are interred in a cemetery with a headstone--not sure where--sorry, I just don't do cemeteries. The other 1/2 of his ashes was dispersed at/into Fayette Station Rapid on the New River in New River Gorge , WV according to his wishes. Fayette Station is the last rapid on the most popular section of the New River Gorge most people raft or kayak. If you ever find yourself there, there is a somewhat old and not too large suspension bridge that crosses the river inside the gorge, I think the smaller bridge may be visible from the huge and famous New River Gorge bridge on U.S. 19--Todd's ashes were spread near the smaller bridge.
Todd is survived by his parents, Jerry and Linda, as well as his daughter (and consequently the light of his life), Autumn Laurel Ferguson, not to mention the countless friends he made along the way. Todd was a great dad, a great friend, and a stellar human being...I will always remember him as such.