Clyde Toland

Clyde (Ted) Toland
February 18, 1931 - August 1, 2024
Clyde Edward (Ted) Toland, Jr. passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family on August 1st, 2024. Born February 18, 1931, at the height of the depression and coming of age during World War II, he developed an ethic and sense of responsibility at an early age that he would carry with him throughout his life. His trademark exuberance and positivity were infectious and attracted all who were lucky enough to come into his sphere.
Accolades and achievements, though there were many, don't begin to tell Ted's story. Ted grew up in Oakland and attended Oakland High School. He was a 4-year veteran of the US Navy during the Korean Conflict, working on a repair ship stationed out of Norfolk, VA. His accounts of those days always focused on the people he met and his work as a machinist, never clouded by negativity. If you didn't know better, you'd have thought he was at summer camp.
Returning from the service, he joined the family business. C. E. Toland Company became C. E. Toland & Son, and a 70-year love affair with the steel business ensued. Again, it was relationships that fueled him, primarily that with his father, who he adored. But also, with general contractors and salesmen, who became fishing and duck hunting buddies. Bankers became golf and travel pals. Insurance brokers became lifelong friends. His accountant became family. He admired and celebrated the estimators, draftsmen, machinists, welders, and field workers who could bring a picture on an architectural drawing to life. In later years, sharing the office with his kids, and now his grandsons, was truly a source of pride and reward.
Ted married our mom Nickie in 1956 and moved to Orinda, CA. Soon, we three kids came along, and he seamlessly adapted to his new role as father. By all accounts, he was the dad that our friends liked best. From our standpoint, he was just dad, but time and perspective have proven that he was exceptional. He embraced his family and gave us the kind of childhood that most can only wish for.
After our mother's untimely death in 1997 Ted met Mary Ramsey and they would eventually wed. Together they designed and built a dream home in the hills of Orinda where they enjoyed a bucolic lifestyle. Sadly, his time with Mary was brief as she passed away in 2003.
A few years later Doris Taboloff entered Ted's life. They married in 2007 and moved to Alamo where they maintained their lush gardens, took walks on the Iron Horse Trail, and entertained friends and family. heir time was filled with bridge games, dinner parties, piano concerts, fishing trips and cruises.
If there was ever a guy you'd want to sit down and have a beer with, it was Ted. He was an interested listener and made a point of remembering personal details about the people he knew, whether close friends or casual acquaintances, so much so that he kept handwritten lists containing key facts that he could refer to.
Ted's grandchildren were also the lucky recipients of his positive attitude, unlimited love and energy. He traveled to their baseball games in Southern California, concerts in Northern California, taught us all how to fish, hunt, golf, boat, ski, sail, drive, barbeque, prune, build stuff, break stuff, fix stuff, all with a smile and endless patience. And if his grandchildren were paying close attention, they learned how to make everyone they encountered feel like a friend.
Underrated skills such as keeping a cocktail from spilling while sailing a sunfish, spraying Cheez Whiz on a Ritz cracker while hiking to a pond, and incinerating bundles of tree clippings in the family room fireplace without burning the entire house down (only the roof and attic were lost) have been passed down to his children, and his children's children. When in doubt, have some ice cream!
Ted's cheerfulness could rescue any situation, from a platter of burnt barbecued spareribs ("they're good for ya!") to a tough loss on the field ("we'll get 'em next time"). If you didn't know that a peanut butter, mayonnaise and lettuce sandwich, salted, on burnt toast could be "the best meal known to modern man!" then you didn't know our dad. If you happened to be the purveyor of any meal you were likely to be showered with praise for making the BEST fill-in-the-blank ever!
Beauty and nature were constants in Ted's life. The view of the marsh from his desk in Benicia, a sunset or moonrise, or a special tree in the garden, he was awestruck by nature. And there were places where he felt most in touch with nature, like the Duck Club, Van Vleck's Ranch, Lake Tahoe, and most notably, Clear Lake.
Having grown up spending summers on the Russian River, Ted had an affinity for boats and water. On their honeymoon, he dragged our poor mom out on Lake Tahoe in a 14' wooden boat he built, which nearly sank in the angry afternoon turbulence, allegedly putting their new marriage in jeopardy. Clear Lake became the annual summer destination for our family. Over the next 65 years Clear Lake would host family vacations, reunions, golf tournaments and his granddaughter's wedding just last Fall.
It will take time to fill the void left behind by a man who was truly bigger than life. But his essence ripples within us, like the wake from a wooden boat powered by a 30-HP Johnson outboard.
Bye now, dad.
Ted is survived by his widow Doris Toland, sister Betty (David Murphy), daughter Laura (Daniel Kelleher), sons Steven (Amanda) and Blake (Wendy), grandchildren Andrew, Jason, Dustin, Courtney (Brandon Robbins), Ryan, Hazel and Clyde, nieces Bridget, Susan, Helen and Jamie, nephew Todd, stepdaughters Deborah, Dede (George Fahd), and Karen (Steve Rovner), stepsons Gregory (Ann Marie) and Sean, step grandchildren Jeffrey, Hannah and Adam, and his beloved pug CeeCee. A special thanks to caregivers Nick and Sahle who provided companionship and comfort.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, at Santa Maria Church, 40 Santa Maria Way, Orinda, CA, 94653. Reception to follow in the Church Hall. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your favorite charity in Ted's honor