Virgil Todd

Virgil Leonard Todd of Potosi, Missouri was born on August 30, 1925 in Fordyce, Arkansas, a son to the late Silas Green Todd and the late Delpha (Briley) Todd. Virgil entered into eternal rest on Saturday, November 19, 2016 having reached the age of ninety one years, two months and twenty days.

Virgil is survived by his son Virgil Lynn Todd and wife Cynthia of Desloge; daughter Ann Castaneda and husband Ruben of Potosi; sister Linda P. Welsh of St. Louis; grandchildren Peter Chinetti and wife Jennifer of DeSoto; Christopher Fowler of Desloge; Zachary Schulte and wife Keeta of Arnold; Christopher Schulte of Hawaii; Nick Schulte of Rolla; and Michelle Noice and husband Ryan of St. Charles; Also surviving are many great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, relatives and dear friends.

In addition to his father and mother, Virgil was preceded in death by his beloved wife Lois Todd on May 6, 2016; grandson Kenneth Lynn Sickmeier; daughter-in-law Claudine Todd; five brothers: John R. Todd, Delmar R. Todd, Elmer R. Todd, Silas J. Todd and Clifford J. Todd.

At 18, Virgil served in the army in the Philippines during World War II. Not long after returning home, he met the love of his life, Lois Lollar and married her on Christmas day, 1949. Then as a newly-wed reservist, he was called back to active duty in Korea where he served for another nine months.

Virgil and Lois were married for sixty-six and a half years and lived on the same farm where Lois was born for their entire married life (except for a single school year during which Virgil was hired as a counselor/teacher at Norwood, Missouri).

Virgil was always an avid outdoorsman, hunting and fishing from the time he was a small boy. He worked a number of years at Pea Ridge Mines near Sullivan, Missouri where he ran underground iron ore trains and drilled and blasted new tunnels. When he was in his fifties, the mines closed. He went back to school and graduated with a B.A. and then a M.A. in Education, both with a major in psychology.

After working as a counselor for a few years and then for the U.S. Forest Service under their senior program, he “retired” to the local farmer’s market where he was a well-known bibbed overall, straw hat wearing icon.
In the last few years of his life, Virgil published three books: Wild Honey from the Hills which contains several of his poems and short stories, An Irishman goes to War, Book 1: World War II, which describes Virgil’s experiences in World War II and his life between wars, and An Irishman goes to War, Book 2: The Korean War which chronicles the battles and trials of that war.

Visitation was held on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 from 4:30 PM until 8:00 PM at the DeClue Funeral Home.

A Funeral Service was held on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 11:00 AM at the First Baptist Church with Pastor Lynn Todd officiating. Musical selections were provided by Pastor Jim Ainley.

Interment and final prayers were held at the Sunset Hill Cemetery where full military honors was be presented by the United States Army and VFW Post 6996 consisting of flag folding and presentation, gun salute and TAPS. DeClue Funeral Home was privileged to care for the funeral arrangements for Virgil during this time of remembrance.