William H. "Bill" Todd

William H. (Bill) Todd, of Nassau Bay, Texas lost his battle to cancer on September 9, 2012.Born April 26, 1927, Bill was the youngest of seven children of Cornelius and Mabel Pettit Todd of Nederland, Colorado. From this small mining town, he made his way to Boulder High School, and after service in the Merchant Marines and United States Marine Corps, graduated from The University of Colorado with a degree in aeronautical engineering. Starting with North American Aviation in 1952, Bill's career in the aerospace industry spanned some of America's most pioneering aerospace programs including the P-51 Mustang, X-15, B-70, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs and took him from Colorado, to California, Alaska, Florida and his current home in Texas. He was a lover of the outdoors and nature and enjoyed tennis, snow skiing and riding his road bike. His daily bike rides continued until just a few weeks ago. For the past seven years Bill was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, rider in the MS 150, completing the ride each year. Of all his accomplishments, Bill was proudest his family, his marriage to his high school sweetheart, Mary for 45 years, his children, Billy and Karen Todd, Jill and Harvey Denman, and Sharon and Bill Dillon, his grandchildren, Kristen and Kari Todd, Melissa and Michael Denman, and Shauna Anstey and Alicia Skala, and three great grandchildren, all brought him great pride and joy. An outdoor celebration of life will be held on Saturday, September22, at 5:00pm, at the home of his son. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Vail Nature Center, 700 South Frontage Road East, Vail, Colorado 81657.