Merideth Colette VanHorn Todd Obituary (1931

Merideth Colette VanHorn Todd passed away surrounded by family and friends on Saturday November 13, 2010 at Martha and Mary Healthcare Center in Poulsbo, WA where she had been living for the past few years. She was born on May 9, 1931 in Granville, North Dakota to George and Wilma (Boulds) VanHorn. In 1941 her parents, brother George and sisters Loralie, Joyce and Beverly, moved to Poulsbo, WA with two men in an old Ford, to find work. They lived in the Lemolo area with relatives when they first arrived. Merideth never forgot how awestruck she was at the beautiful water, mountains, and trees that surrounded her. Her parents found work at the Keyport Torpedo Station and the family lived in several places in the area, before moving to the Poulsbo Project. Sister Cheryl was born in 1942, so now they were a family of eight. Merideth worked during that time at Bauer's Bakery, and at Island Lake selling concessions during the teen dances held there. She graduated from North Kitsap High School in 1951 and in June of that year, she married Leroy Todd at the Grace Lutheran Church in Poulsbo. They settled in Suquamish where Leroy had grown up and that is where they spent the remainder of their 44 years together. They had seven children, daughters Terry and Kathy and sons Ron, Tom, Larry, Jeff, and Ken. Leroy worked long hours in those days as an auto mechanic at Faler's Garage, and spent many years as a volunteer fireman and later Fire Chief of the Suquamish Fire Department, so the major childrearing duties fell to Merideth, and with seven children that was not an easy task. She volunteered at Suquamish Elementary School with the PTA and held many fundraising dinners. She helped out with the Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops her kids were involved in and was a Den Mother for a few years. She worked for a few years at Faler's Garage when the kids got older, but most of her life was spent raising children. Later on she helped raise her grandchildren, as well as being a caregiver for her elderly parents, mother-in-law and several friends. When she was 70 years old she helped care for an infant grandson, and she lovingly attended her husband Leroy during his illness before he passed away in 1995. Merideth had a huge extended family, and there were many family gatherings, trips to Long Beach, WA, the yearly summer picnic/campout at Grey Wolf in the Olympic Mountains and many trips to visit relatives in Oregon, Montana, and North Dakota. She accepted as her own, all grandchildren that came into the family over the years; they were all considered her grandkids and treated equally. She was the main connection in her family to the relatives living out of state and would call often, relaying family news back and forth. She remembered all of the old family stories and shared them on a regular basis and could remember names and dates that everyone else had forgotten. She loved to host family gatherings at the holidays and especially had fun at Halloween, dressing up for the kids. She had a quirky sense of humor, and was not easily embarrassed. She loved attending her yearly class reunions and reminiscing with all of her old Poulsbo friends. She enjoyed cooking so much, and watching the cooking channel on TV, collecting jewelry (for years she was an 'Avon lady'), collecting antique dishes, and she enjoyed collecting and watching Movies, and sharing them with family and friends. Merideth had many health issues in her last years due to diabetes, and bravely endured surgeries, and kidney dialysis for almost eight years. She handled this with humor; even after part of her right leg and the toes on her left foot were gone, she nicknamed them 'Shorty' and 'Littlefoot'. She made many friends at Martha and Mary with residents and staff alike, and had constant visitors there. Each weekend she would have outings to go home, and visits with her kids, grandkids, sisters and friends. At the end Merideth chose her time to go, by discontinuing dialysis and was surrounded that week by many loving friends and family so that goodbyes could be said. She was preceded in death by husband Leroy, parents George and Wilma VanHorn, brother George VanHorn, sisters Joyce Lind and Beverly Roberts, niece Judy Kinney, and dear friend Bonnie Roller. She is survived by her sisters Loralie Prince of Arlington, WA. and Cheryl (Bob) Meek of Poulsbo; sister-in-law Violet VanHorn of Camano Island, WA., brother and sister-in-law Herb and Dottie Todd of Suquamish; daughters: Terry Clutter and Kathy Todd, both of Suquamish; sons: Ron (Jacki) Todd, Tom (Debbie) Todd, Larry (Karen) Todd, Jeff (Chelina) Todd, and Ken Todd, all of the Suquamish/Kingston area; 20 Grandchildren: Beth, Jenny (Bill), Angela (Brian), Adam, Megan (Dennis), Jill (Justin), Jacob, Chelana, Rosco, Chuck, Cheyenne, Christy (Michael), Holly, Tommy, Tony, Chenoa, Ida, Che, Trinity, and Clayton; 7 Great-Grandchildren: Rachel, Michael, Sebastian, Hailey, Phoenix, Aidan and Logan; and Special friends Rita and Espy Espinosa, Judy Almazan, Greg and Cheral George and Maria Morgan, and many special nieces, nephews, and cousins.