Ernest Todd Jr.

My Deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Ernest Todd. As a child growing up in Birmingham, Alabama I grew up thinking his name was Buster Todd because that's was the only name that I knew. My condolences to his wife Beverly, his sons Dude and Travis and to his daughters Pam and Ebony. Sending my condolences from Birmingham, Alabama. Rest Safe In His Arms.

Michael Moore and family sends our ultimate condolences to the Todd family.God bless pops May he look down on you all smiling.

My dear Earnest. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the times you went and got my coffee in the morning and lunch in the evening at flamingo liquors. I knew you and your mom a long time and I will missing you both. I can't explain the great fullness you both had on me. Only heaven knows. I left flamingo going on 2 years now and I thought of you many many times thereafter. You will always be embedded in my heart. Love you my brother. Simply Shirley formally at flamingo liquors. Tony I am sure will meet you at heavens gate. Tony from flamingo liquors. Kisses.Rip. love always.

To pop today is your birthday happy birthday pop to you.I miss you with all my heart may you rest in peace life is going to be a challenge without your presence and your sense of humor and your smile I cherish every memory of you in my heart forever until God calls me home.I love you pop ,Love your son Ernest Todd III {DUDE)!

My cousin Ernest Todd was the son of my first cousin Addie Mae Reese Todd, who was named after her aunt (and my mother), Addie Mae (McCurdy) Hammonds of Lowndes County, Alabama. Ernest called my mother Aunt Addie and called me "Cuz" and sometimes "Blimp"; we affectionately called him "Buster Todd" or "Crab." I was born February 16, 1948, so I am four days older than Buster Todd. Because of our close birthdays, we were called "twin cousins," although we grew up more like two brothers during the late '50s to mid-'60s. We first met when I lived in Nashville, Tennessee, when he, his mother, and his father, Ernest Sr., would travel from Chicago, Illinois, to Birmingham and stop in Nashville on their way. I can remember that we were always compared to each other to see who was the tallest, strongest, and so forth.

Buster Todd gave his life to Christ at an early age and was baptized at Healing Spring Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a Cub and Boy Scout and the Eagle Patrol Leader in a troop in the East Avondale community of Birmingham, where the father of his future wife, Beverly Woodall, was our Scoutmaster. He could run very fast and was on Butler Elementary School's track team. Although there were taller players on the basketball team, he also played center on Butler's basketball team because of his agility and toughness. I remember him playing basketball with his 9th grade class during Hayes High School's annual intramural basketball tournament, where my best friend in high school called him "wild man" because of his fierceness.

I remember Buster "taking up" for me once in a fistfight when my opponent was winning the fight. My opponent's big brother got involved—I won't tell you the final outcome! Buster was very popular with the young ladies growing up and was a good dancer. I mentioned earlier that he gave his life to Christ at a young age. As adolescents, Buster Todd, his uncle (and my cousin) Eddie Reese, and I formed a vocal trio. One day, we were singing in church. One of us got "tickled" and started giggling, which caused all three of us to laugh out loud. Needless to say, we got in lots of trouble afterwards. I think our trio disbanded shortly after that.

Buster was always a hard worker and became a father when his oldest child Pam was born. He married his childhood sweetheart, Beverly, they went on to have three more children: Ernest III also known as "Dude," Travis, and Ebony and moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, along with his mother. I left home in 1966, when I joined the U.S. Marines and served for more than 30 years until 1997. We kept in touch during that time and would see each other occasionally when we were both visiting Birmingham. I would travel to Ft. Lauderdale, and he and his family would travel to Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Portsmouth, Virginia, to visit his oldest son, "Dude," who was in the U.S. Navy and stationed aboard the battleship USS Iowa. We spoke with each other a few times since the onset of his recent illness, and "to God be the glory" for technology. Buster's son, Travis, hooked us up via cellphone, where we spoke with each other while he was recovering from his illness in an assisted living facility.

I could share many more memories about Buster Todd but will stop here so that I don't embellish any more stories about my "twin cousin." Suffice it to say that we are going to miss Buster's affectionate personality and courageousness, but we will always cherish the honor and blessing of having known and loved him. To Beverly, Pam, Dude, Travis, and Ebony, his grandchildren, and other family members and friends, be comforted in knowing that on Thursday, February 8, Buster Todd joined his mother, Addie Mae, and other close family members that have passed in glory as God said to him, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." We love you, Buster Todd, and your family will miss you tremendously!

Love,

Reverend James W. "Cuz" Washington Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

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