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| Volunteers working at Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park in 2016. Jim Todd is second from right. |
It is impossible to do justice to Jim Todd in a few paragraphs, but he was quite the activist. A retired PhD organic chemist, he routinely attended City Council meetings for decades. He helped develop and pass Ordinance 2865, the so-called ‘dog poop’ ordinance in 2004. He was a member of the Kah Tai Alliance in the early 2000s and singlehandedly collected over 1600 signatures on a petition to protect the park from development. In 2013 he joined nine other supporters to travel to Olympia and speak to RCO about the flawed attempt to develop Kah Tai. Jim used our public library frequently, helped with public survey efforts and became an effective proponent for quiet space in the library. He was very involved in the ‘Be Fair Vote No’ campaign to stop the replacement of the library annex in 2013 when the city had more critical needs to address. He unsuccessfully applied for the library advisory board at that time.
Jim engaged in the failed attempt at a parks plan update in 2011 which was sidelined by the contention over Kah Tai and the effort to develop a county-wide MPD (Metropolitan Park District). He remained engaged in the successful parks plan effort in 2014, and joined the parks board soon after the plan was passed in March 2014. He remained on the board and participated in a PRTTAB (Parks, Recreation, Trees & Trails Advisory Board) meeting two days before the heart attack that led to his death at age 90.
Jim had not changed his quirky mannerisms, stories, or frugality over the years, but they may have become less tolerable to his friends in his last decades. What you saw was what you got, over and over and over. The jokes and nicknames that he gave people were one of his trademarks of his friendships with fellow community members. You probably heard the same ones, too.
His values, especially his environmentalism, were predictable and very kind to the earth. We never knew anyone else who had as light an energy footprint on this planet. He lived what he so strongly believed and felt in his heart.
Over the last decades you might have noticed him on his daily afternoon hikes thru our town. He enjoyed stopping and visiting with all that he saw on these walking travels on our streets and in our parks. He was an avid birdwatcher and stargazer. He loved to do these activities with friends and local groups and he will be missed in future local gatherings of these enthusiasts. He always claimed to be a visitor from the star Arcturus and those of us that knew him well weren’t sure.
Perhaps Jim’s most coveted persona was as the self-described Garbage Bear. Jim participated especially enthusiastically at any public event that might provide snacks.
In the early spring there will be a celebration of his life on our local ferry to take his cremated remains out to Admiralty Inlet and we invite his friends to come and share stories and send him on his way. If you would like to be contacted to come and be a part of his memorial please email kahtaifriends@gmail.com and we will reach out to you when it is planned.
