In the Beatles song, "Can't Buy Me Love" there is a lyric that says, "I don't care to much for money, cause money can't buy me love." Well said, because money cannot buy you love, but money can do many wonderful things if used as a tool for good. I would like to share an obituary with you about a man that I got to know. 

In a recent Herald Palladium article, written by Tony Wittkowski, it gave a brief recap of a man's life that spaded 86 years. Portions of this article are to follow:

Philanthropist Edward Todd dies at age 86  

STEVENSVILLE — Edward Todd, a prominent philanthropist and supporter of education in Southwest Michigan, died Sunday.

He was 86 years old.

The Stevensville resident’s biggest impact was felt in the education community, where he helped fund St. Joseph High School’s robotics center and the business education center at Lake Michigan College.

Todd was born on Feb. 12, 1937 and spent his early years in Muskegon Heights, before moving to St. Joseph in 1947.

As a St. Joseph High School graduate in the Class of 1954, Todd was a member of the 1953 state champion basketball team. He attended Benton Harbor Junior College – now known as LMC – where he earned his associate degree. Afterward, Todd went to Western Michigan University and earned his degree in business administration.

Stevensville resident Rick Sanders, who was a close friend of Todd’s for the past two decades, said he’ll always be remembered as a generous and kind man.

“For years, until COVID, every Wednesday at 11 a.m. he’d come to my office, have some coffee and we would talk for two hours about sports,” Sanders said. “Whether it was Michigan football or (Detroit) Lions football, he loved talking sports.”

A hobby that stretched beyond sports was his enthusiasm for vintage cars.

Todd enjoyed hanging out with friends and cruising in his beloved car, which he called “My Merry Oldsmobile 88,” with its 324-cubic-inch Rocket V8 engine.

“He had several antique cars and enjoyed car shows,” Sanders said. “The joy he got from having his car parked out there, and having people come out and look at it, would put the biggest smile on his face.”

An impactful philanthropist

After graduation, Todd worked at his stepfather’s distribution business, West Michigan Wholesale in St. Joseph. Todd worked with him and gained his business acumen from this experience.

When his stepfather died in 2010, Todd became the trustee of the Paul and Rose Suchovsky Charitable Trust. Todd spent his career continuing to grow the family’s business and eventually became one of the community’s most impactful philanthropists.

He endowed six $5,000 scholarships in perpetuity for students graduating from St. Joseph High School – specifically students pursuing degrees in business.

We had a lot of conversations about that,” Sanders said in reference to Todd’s many donations. “We talked about who he was giving his money to and the percentage of what was going to various organizations.”

He was the lead donor for the Edward J. Todd Innovation Center at St. Joseph High School, which houses the district’s robotics program.

“He enjoyed going to watch the competitions that were there,” Sanders said.

Todd next funded the creation of the Edward J. Todd Center for Business, Education & Information Technology at Lake Michigan College. He also financially supported the BBQ Blues & Bluegrass Festival, Mike Yore Memorial Car Show, The Heritage Museum, the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and scholarships for business students from Muskegon and Berrien counties to attend Western Michigan University.

For these efforts, Todd received St. Joseph Public School Foundation’s first Distinguished Philanthropist Award in 2014, and was named a 2016 winner of LMC’s Alumni Service Award.

“He was a generous and kind man, but a humble man at the same time,” Sanders said. “He was very reserved, but there were things he cared about that he wanted to be a part of and see continued.”

Ed was a very unassuming man. He was friendly to everyone and at times his kindness was actually taken advantage of. Yet, he remained unchanged and lived his life as a true philanthropist. The scholarships, endowments and donations will continue, but not having Ed in our community will certainly be missed.