April 2, 1939 – February 14, 2023
Charles “Chip” Hugh Todd, III, 83, of Friendswood, Texas passed away on February 14, 2023. He was born April 2, 1939 to Dr. Charles H. Todd, Jr. and Robbie Finnie Todd in Beaumont, Texas.
He graduated from Lamar Tech with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Fine Arts. Chip had a wide variety of jobs, including; ambulance driver, mortuary embalmer, auto, motorcycle and boat drag racer, auto mechanic and body shop, TV station advertising manager, photographer, advertising manager for Mickey Thompson, guitar repair/luthier and custom designer, mechanical engineer, gunsmith, magazine article writer for engineering and gunsmithing, and a machinist.
In his youth, he was an orchestral Violinist. He later played guitar and bass and loved hosting local musicians for get-together gigs. He was best known for designing the Peavey electric guitars, the “T-series”, T-60 guitar and T-40 bass.
Chip loved having fun because life is an adventure to be enjoyed. Family friend, John Hubler once said, “I like going places with you Mr. Todd. Something always happens.”
He is survived by his son Charles “Skip” Todd, IV, his wife Veronika Todd, and their children Charles “Kolya” Todd, V and Viviana Todd; his daughter Catherine “Cat” Puma, her husband Joe Puma and their children Valerie Puma and Jillian Puma; his sister Carolyn Todd Boldt and her daughters, Barbara Whitaker, Julie Malone, Cindy Figueredo, and Janet Hoffman; his step-daughter Michelle Howell, and step-grandchildren, Michael, Lindsay, and Thomas Howell.
There are no public services scheduled, the family with have a small dinner in Chip’s honor.
Chip asked for charitable contributions in lieu of flowers to his favorite charities; Shriners Children’s Hospital at www.shrinerschildrens.org or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
6 thoughts on “Charles "Chip" Hugh Todd, III”
To the Entire Todd Family,
Chip Todd has been a long-time friend and mentor to me personally. I will cherish the last thing he said to me, "We had a lot of good times." which I could not agree with more. He was a brilliant man with a sense of humor that I thoroughly enjoyed. I always valued his opinion with technical problems and I learned a lot from being around him. He was generous with his time to help on projects.
Chip Todd will be sorely missed.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
I may not have been as close to Chip as my father was, but I will always remember those late nights assembling Pinewood Derby cars in Chip’s garage, when he was kind enough to let us borrow his tools and get the machining part done.
My prayers are with his family and friends.
I can remember when he built that short acoustic guitar for his daughter Catherine, beautiful guitar. Neil Diamond's utilities player
showed up and borrowed it, it was played during the Diamond Christmas specials. So one day, at his shop in Cedar Park, he asked me to keep an eye out for the mailman. Later, I see a truck pull up and a package, I walk it in , put it on the counter, Chip opens it up, it's the guitar. YEAH!! He was happy. Miss you.
Forgot my name on the condolence above, again miss you.
I just learned of Chip's passing. I was his "computer guy" for a number of years. It was always a pleasure to hear him relate some of his many stories. He was very impressive in his accomplishments in the area of racing but most especially his inventing!
Eternal rest grant unto Chip, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
I was deeply saddened to hear about Chip's passing this afternoon. One memory of Chip that warms my heart dates back to the winter of 2005 when, at the age of 16, he invited me into his shop to work on my beloved Jackson guitar. As I shared my preferences for tuning and adjustments, Chip not only listened attentively but went above and beyond to enhance my guitar's sound. He skillfully installed active pickups, replaced the nut, and transformed my guitar into a musical masterpiece.
The moments spent with Chip in his shop are etched in my memory, a testament to his kindness and expertise. Thank you, Chip, for your exceptional care and guidance. Rest in peace, my friend.