Spanky's Place :: Remembering Todd Gunn

Category Personal

TODD RONALD GUNN

Todd Ronald Gunn cast off his earthly bowlines Saturday, April 2, 2005. He was born in Mountain View, California, February 4, 1965. He lived in California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas. He traveled the world and landed in his favorite city, Austin, Texas where he found an extended family in his friends whom he loved and they loved him dearly (FOTG).

Todd graduated from Oklahoma University in 1988 with a double degree in Engineering/Physics. He also received two Masters Degrees: Business/Statistics, with partial degree studies in Medicine.

Todd worked as a contractor for NASA's Johnson Space Center for five years. His positions included Payload Data Engineer, Payload Systems Engineer and Space Shuttle Flight Controller Representative in the Payload Mission Control Center in Houston. He worked on many Payloads for the Space Shuttle, including the Hubble Telescope. His final position was in Austin as Systems Architect with the Nonstop Division at Hewlett Packard. He worked hard and played hard with his fellow colleagues/friends.

He was involved with A.S.S. sailing club, HASH running club, and was an active marathoner. He was a host to friends joining in for music on his guitar and banjo at his home, Camp Gunn.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Troy William Gunn, his father, Frank William Gunn, his great-grandparents, Albert and Beatrice Peck, grandparents, Roy Eric Olofson and Thelma Peck Olofson, Roy Walter Gunn and Ruby Kooyman Gunn, grandmother, Hazel B. Weitz, his aunt, Eileen Gunn Zander and his stepfather, Glenn A. Burroughs.

He is survived by his mother, Marie Gunn Burroughs; his sister, Traci Ann Gunn; his "other mother," Yvonne J. Gunn; his "other father," Tom Bebo Stepanski; his gentle hand to hold, Karen Elizabeth Vines; and treasured aunts, uncles and cousins.

Private services were held at his home on Sunday, April 3, 2005.

In lieu of flowers, please support the people that supported Todd on his final journey: Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Road, Austin Texas 78759.

So, so long Captain Gunn - you tower of a man.
You'll be missed far and wide - the Mojave to Sudan.
We'll keep watch for your new vessel,
And we'll remember you my brother,
We'll take comfort in the memories we share with each other.
And I'll never meet another gent quite of your stature,
Til the day I'm sent off by the Great Dispatcher.
Sail on, Mr. Gunn - til the day has run late.
O captain . . . My captain . . .
you were a bloody unparalleled mate.
By FOTG Rob Rich

-Devin

Eulogy for Todd Gunn

Dan Vox, one of Todd's many friends posted a eulogy on his site. Here is the URL:

Here is the transcript:

Eulogy, Todd Gunn

April 4, 2005

Todd wasn't a native Texan but it makes sense that this is where he chose to live. In many ways Todd was, much like the state he called home, bigger than life. Perhaps it's that gusto and the enthusiasm with which he approached life -- reveled in life, that makes it so hard to come to terms with his being gone.

And it is the way he lived his life that leaves us so many things to remember about Todd; and makes it so very hard to narrow this down to recounting only a few. Perhaps the one thing, the common thread if you will, that I'll remember above all else, will be Todd's unbounded generosity. I'd like to share this short list of things that I'll remember and miss most about Todd.

I'll remember about Todd that even as a devout vegetarian, he hosted some of the best barbeques in his back yard. He'd grill up platters of steaks, sausages even chicken (to which he was allergic), and of course a few portabellas for himself. I'll remember his penchant for, and the pride he took in cooking great brisket. "How does that taste?" He'd ask us carnivores as he pushed another plate in front of us.

And speaking of food, I'll remember his many behemoth lasagnas. Some, I'm sure, weighed in excess of twenty pounds! He'd work for hours on them, throwing any and all sorts of vegetables and types of cheese into the mix. In the case of his massive lasagnas, the principles of thermodynamics seemed not to occur to Todd - they always took at least an hour or two more to cook than he'd accounted for. I've eaten Todd's lasagna for dessert on quite a few occasions (even a couple of Thanksgivings).

I'll remember Todd's beer fridge, which, in accordance with his generosity and joie de vivre, was always, stocked full of Lone Star. There were even a few of what Todd called "hoity-toity" beers in there for those of us not so fond of yellow beer as he. I'll remember the never-ending supply of Woodford he kept on hand for his friends and the occasional bottle of "The Good Stuff."

I'll remember his penchant for baking cloves of garlic so large as to seem unlikely.

I'll remember his aversion to shoes. I'll cherish the image, as I'm sure quite a few other passengers will too, of Todd sitting on a plane in First Class wearing shorts, an old t-shirt, and bare feet. That was Todd, never constrained by convention or other peoples' notions of propriety. It's what made Todd great.

Above all else, though, I'll remember the nights that he and I sat out in the carport and talked, about anything and everything. Many times he'd stay until the first rays of dawn broke the darkness. I'll cherish those memories forever.

Lastly, and I don't know if this will seem significant to anyone but me, I remember his special relationship with our Great Dane Phineas. A woman I know once told me, and I think it's true, "you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their dog." No wonder then, that Phineas loved "Uncle Todd" so much. The many Frisbee golf outings, the hour-long tugs of war, the never-ending supply of basketballs to play with (and of course dragging Damon around Todd's back yard). You see, Todd's generosity extended even to Phineas. And it makes me happy to believe that they're playing in heaven today.

It will be hard adjusting to not having Todd with us. He was a big part of our lives. Even those of us he barely knew he made feel as if they were among his closest friends. If I take anything from this, I hope it will be to keep a small part of Todd alive. Both by cherishing his memory and, moreover, by extolling and even emulating his approach to life.

Thanks Todd, for being our friend.

Update April 02, 2006

Here is a link to the Asian Princess' Todd Gunn Memorial 2006 page. Todd has an amazing group of friends who love him and will always remember him.

-Devin

Wowsers! A Tag Cloud!

Comments

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https://www.voxlibre.com/dan_blog.htm#todd

Eulogy, Todd Gunn

April 4, 2005

Todd wasn't a native Texan but it makes sense that this is where he chose to live. In many ways Todd was, much like the state he called home, bigger than life. Perhaps it's that gusto and the enthusiasm with which he approached life -- reveled in life, that makes it so hard to come to terms with his being gone.

And it is the way he lived his life that leaves us so many things to remember about Todd; and makes it so very hard to narrow this down to recounting only a few. Perhaps the one thing, the common thread if you will, that I'll remember above all else, will be Todd's unbounded generosity. I'd like to share this short list of things that I'll remember and miss most about Todd.

I'll remember about Todd that even as a devout vegetarian, he hosted some of the best barbeques in his back yard. He'd grill up platters of steaks, sausages even chicken (to which he was allergic), and of course a few portabellas for himself. I'll remember his penchant for, and the pride he took in cooking great brisket. "How does that taste?" He'd ask us carnivores as he pushed another plate in front of us.

And speaking of food, I'll remember his many behemoth lasagnas. Some, I'm sure, weighed in excess of twenty pounds! He'd work for hours on them, throwing any and all sorts of vegetables and types of cheese into the mix. In the case of his massive lasagnas, the principles of thermodynamics seemed not to occur to Todd - they always took at least an hour or two more to cook than he'd accounted for. I've eaten Todd's lasagna for dessert on quite a few occasions (even a couple of Thanksgivings).

I'll remember Todd's beer fridge, which, in accordance with his generosity and joie de vivre, was always, stocked full of Lone Star. There were even a few of what Todd called "hoity-toity" beers in there for those of us not so fond of yellow beer as he. I'll remember the never-ending supply of Woodford he kept on hand for his friends and the occasional bottle of "The Good Stuff."

I'll remember his penchant for baking cloves of garlic so large as to seem unlikely.

I'll remember his aversion to shoes. I'll cherish the image, as I'm sure quite a few other passengers will too, of Todd sitting on a plane in First Class wearing shorts, an old t-shirt, and bare feet. That was Todd, never constrained by convention or other peoples' notions of propriety. It's what made Todd great.

Above all else, though, I'll remember the nights that he and I sat out in the carport and talked, about anything and everything. Many times he'd stay until the first rays of dawn broke the darkness. I'll cherish those memories forever.

Lastly, and I don't know if this will seem significant to anyone but me, I remember his special relationship with our Great Dane Phineas. A woman I know once told me, and I think it's true, "you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their dog." No wonder then, that Phineas loved "Uncle Todd" so much. The many Frisbee golf outings, the hour-long tugs of war, the never-ending supply of basketballs to play with (and of course dragging Damon around Todd's back yard). You see, Todd's generosity extended even to Phineas. And it makes me happy to believe that they're playing in heaven today.

It will be hard adjusting to not having Todd with us. He was a big part of our lives. Even those of us he barely knew he made feel as if they were among his closest friends. If I take anything from this, I hope it will be to keep a small part of Todd alive. Both by cherishing his memory and, moreover, by extolling and even emulating his approach to life.

Thanks Todd, for being our friend.