Memories of Todd Anthony Gant

Jason Johnson

Centralia, KS, USA

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Ricky Gant

I wanted to share my thank you with all who viewed the site and not just with those that contributed financially. Your love for my dad and your support of his kids is something that we are all very grateful for. I want to share the same thanks with everyone here.

Thank you, thank you, thank. you.

I started writing this thank you on December 1, 2020. It quickly turned into a combination of an elegy and a eulogy. However, the purpose was to thank each and every person that donated to Todd Gant’s memorial fund. As you might read, we were able to cover all except four cents of dad’s funeral expenses with donations that came in through this site, in-person, and through cards left in the offering plate at church.

I did leave a $40.00 tip and a handwritten note to a server at Cracker Barrel in Midland, TX because her slacks had a rip in them about five inches long and two inches across right below her belt line in the back. I explained that my father had just passed of COVID19 and we would like to use some of the memorial funds to buy her a new pair of work slacks. She huddled with the rest of the servers in the back of the restaurant crying and nearly tackled me with a hug on my way out of the restaurant. We (all of those who donated) through dad’s spirit did this and it should remind us, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

It really took all that I had physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to be strong for my immediate family and for my extended family while taking care of my father from his passing until the time he was laid to rest next to his family in Atkinson, Nebraska. When I returned to Washington, I was almost immediately diagnosed with COVID19 and suffered from symptoms so severe I was forced to consider my own mortality. It has taken me this long to recover enough so that I could even take a moment to grieve the passing of my father. I finally feel that I have begun that process.

The gratitude that I have for those that contributed financially, or showed up in physical form is remarkable. A man that did not even have a couch to sit on donated fifty dollars. That man was given dad’s couch to sit on. A high school friend of mine drove six hours with her daughter to be at the funeral. She knows that she was a daughter of my dad as well. I know that the best I can do to thank all of you is to continue to honor my dad’s memory by giving to others in the way that he did. Do what you know in your heart is right, make time to talk to people, and always love those people that God puts in your path. Thank you all so much for loving my dad, supporting his immediate family, and helping “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine”.

Dad really didn't like music much at all. He liked to talk and to think and to talk and to think. I used to turn the music on in the car or truck and he would “directly” turn the volume off. Oh, when he told me I need to do something “directly”... you can imagine how that worked out with me, being my father’s son. These four songs really make me think of my dad. Each time I play them I turn them up “directly”.

The Gambler -Kenny Rogers

Dad was 'The Gambler' and his life was epitomized by the lyrics of that tune. In fact after being given a generous donation by his brother, a check from his other brother, and a check from his youngest sister... dad did in fact 'break even' or pretty nearly close to it. All donations together came within four cents of covering the costs associated with laying him to rest next to his father. While growing up, I always wanted to 'count the money'. Later in life, I make a decent life for myself with my ability to count (teaching math). But when I was young I knew 'the count' just wasn't right. I would see dad give his last twenty dollars to another person in need and when I questioned him about it he would basically tell me not to worry about 'the count'. Dad was doing stuff for people all of the time and rarely getting paid fairly for his work. Like so many people he was paid what the person thought they could get away with paying him, not really for the value of the work. I know some people believe they were helping him out but generosity, goodwill, and caring for your brother is never part of ‘the count’. I think he had a hard time accepting that others could be so selfish, but he also knew that 'every hand was a winner' and 'every hand a loser'. Though others may have lost with the hand he was dealt, dad made his hand a winner. I wonder now which is easier, making a losing hand a winner or a winning hand a loser.

Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy
You gotta learn to play it right
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done
Every gambler knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner
And every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for
Is to die in your sleep"
And when he'd finished speakin'
He turned back toward the window
Crushed out his cigarette
Faded off to sleep
And somewhere in the darkness
The gambler he broke even
And in his final words I found
An Ace that I could keep

Coward of the County -Kenny Rogers

In my own way I promised my dad to 'not do the things you've done' and 'to walk away from trouble when I can'. 'Papa don't think I am weak, I didn't turn the other cheek'.' I fought a 'Gatlin boy' that had a gun with my fists, with my brother, with my friend. I had to leave that bar room and I hope you (all) understand.

Promise me, Son, not to do the things I've done
Walk away from trouble if you can
Now it won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek
I hope you're old enough to understand
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man

I promised you, Dad, not to do the things you've done
I walk away from trouble when I can
Now please don't think I'm weak, I didn't turn the other cheek
And Papa, I should hope you understand
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man

Maneater -Hall and Oates

Was a father giving his son a warning about how pursuing all of the self-interest and desire that the world (New York City) has to offer can chew a man up or was he warning about how misplacing your heart in the care of particular women can chew a man up? Probably the latter, but the important thing is that we all have to overlook ‘beauty’ if ‘a beast is in the heart’. That ‘beauty’ could be anything that is appealing, but I believe that beast is always ‘self’, ‘selfish’, ‘selfishness’. ‘Watchout, here she comes’ is a warning to be careful for those whose love is contingent on money, the self, or the ‘beast’ that is in the heart.

She'll only come out at nights
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen her here before
Watching and waiting
Ooh, she's sitting with you but her eyes are on the door
So many have paid to see
What you think you're getting for free
The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar
Money's the matter
If you're in it for love
You ain't gonna get too far
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
I wouldn't if I were you
I know what she can do
She's deadly man, she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there but a beast is in the heart.

Tomorrow Never Comes -Zac Brown Band

I feel like this is how my dad lived his life. He lived ‘searching for answers’ and was pretty good at “figuring things out”, but some he could ‘never find’. If you spent time with him you knew you needed to ‘hold on tight’ and ‘live like tomorrow never comes’.

I've been climbing my way through the sky
Searching for answers that I'll never find
Losing my breath as I fall
Learning to fly, letting go of it all
Learning to fly, letting go of it all

I've been trying to open my eyes
Take it all in as the world passes by
Getting lost in the twists and the turns
Finding these questions inside me still burn
Finding these questions inside me still burn

I'm gonna live like tomorrow never comes
There's no end in sight, tonight we black out the sun
Better hold on tight, before you know it's gone
And live like tomorrow never comes

Woah-oh
Woah-oh

Woah-oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh

I keep looking for some kind of sign
Trying to hold on in this race against time
I can't say where the next bend might be
That is the beauty in life's mystery
That is the beauty in life's mystery

I'm gonna live like tomorrow never comes
There's no end in sight, tonight we black out the sun
Better hold on tight, before you know it's gone
And live like tomorrow never comes

Woah-oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh

There's no end in sight, for tonight we black out the sun

Woah-oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh

Each of us ‘ages’ every year on our birthdays, but we never get any older. When I turned forty, I felt like I was the same age I was twenty years ago. Ask any old person at what age they became an old person. They will often say they are the same age they have always been. Our souls never age, they were, they are, and they forever will be.

We are all expressions of the same God. We bear His indelible mark and live a human life constrained by chemistry, biology, and the physics of space and time. My dad’s soul is freed from his human body and no longer exists in that place. His soul, indelibly marked by our Creator, has returned to the Father and rests there in His perfect Presence as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be; a world without end.

Amen.

Postscript: My uncle Tim Gant called me right as I was finishing this writing. I was thinking about offering readers a very powerful book that I listened to a few years ago on my way back to Washington after nearly losing my life on a moose hunt in Alaska. Something that he and I talked about during that call prompted me to leave this link here for you. I would recommend listening to the audio version when you have a long car ride or when you have time to sit quietly and listen. Enjoy.

The Power of Now -Eckhart Tolle

https://www.amazon.com/Power-…

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Marie Kelley

Sorry to hear about Todd, sending prayers to all of you. I have so many memories of him from my childhood, but one of my favorite moments is when my dad, John, and Todd went fishing at a nearby pond for the day. They were so excited they ended up catching 84 crappie that day. On the way home, John and Todd were in the lead in John’s car, and my dad was following with his truck. A few miles outside of town, we spot a calf in the middle of the road. John slows down, and then all of a sudden Todd opens the passenger door hangs out of the vehicle and we hear his loud whistle and him yelling YAAW, get back in your fence! The calf took off running, with Todd following behind. My dad and I were laughing, but sure enough Todd was able to get the calf corralled and back in its fence without ever leaving the vehicle or stopping the car. He was that type of person willing to help out however he could. 💕🙏🏼

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Makayla Gant

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Makayla Gant

Thank you Marie so many good memories with you all in them!!!!!!! Thank you Marie so many good memories with you all in them!!!!!!! Thank you Marie so many good memories with you all ... Read more

Sharron Heiser

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Sharron Heiser

When Jerald told me earlier this week about Todd, I have been in a state of unbelief and sorrow. I met Todd 55 yrs ago at the Atkinson swimming pool. We were taking beginning swimming lessons. All of a sudden out of nowhere Todd ran up to me with this huge smile curls blowing in the wind with water dripping everywhere as he pulled some shenanigan and ran off laughing at his success. He was always a jokster and fun to be around. Years later a bunch of us jumped in his car to go driving around. We found ourselves on a muddy road and sure enough got stuck. Two people were nominated to push us out ,so they got out and unsuspecting started to push. Suddenly I heard Todd snicker as he said watch this and put the car in drive stomping on the gas with mud flying everywhere. Sure enough they were covered in a thick layer of mud. The only thing that was white were their eyeballs and their teeth. As hard as he was howling (and he was) the guys were loudly complaining just as bad. He ended up taking them down to the lake and told them to jump in. I can still hear him today.
Words are never adequate but know he brought happiness to alot of people.

I love you and know you are in my prayers.

Sharon

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Amanda Gant

Tammy Corum

Makayla Gant

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Makayla Gant

Love this thank you for sharing ❤️ Love this thank you for sharing ❤️ Love this thank you for sharing ❤️

Tammy Corum

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Dana Ibach

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Ricky Gant

Makayla Gant

Amanda Gant

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Ricky Gant

Please keep the pictures coming. This is the one time where the family can collect them from others that ... Read more Please keep the pictures coming. This is the one time where the family can collect them from others that have them. Please keep the pictures coming. This is the one time... Read more

Dana Ibach

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Makayla Gant

Amanda Gant

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Ricky Gant

Great pictures of Elmer, Jason, and me. Is that Makayla and Melinda? Great pictures of Elmer, Jason, and me. Is that Makayla and Melinda? Great pictures of Elmer, Jason, and me. Is that Makayla... Read more

Dana Ibach

Yes it was makaylas birthday Yes it was makaylas birthday Yes it was makaylas birthday

Dana Ibach

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Makayla Gant

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Ricky Gant

Do you have John Younkers contact information. I don’t know if he knows. Do you have John Younkers contact information. I don’t know if he knows. Do you have John Younkers contact information. I don’t... Read more

Dana Ibach

No ask Makayla No ask Makayla No ask Makayla

Ricky Gant

Sassy.

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Rhonda Svoboda

Becky Krysl

Makayla Gant

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Ricky Gant

Almost home.

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Rhonda Svoboda

Juley Kolterman

Becky Krysl

Amanda Gant

Makayla Gant

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Dorothy Gant

God. Bless You!! You have wonderful through all of this.
Todd would be very proud of all his children.... Read more God. Bless You!! You have wonderful through all of this.
Todd would be very proud of all his children.
You were all there... Read more God. Bless You!! You have wonderful through all of... Read more

Ashley Moore

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Makayla Gant

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LaNell Schneider

2007

Todd and his family. ❤️

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Juley Kolterman

Amanda Gant

Kelli Stephens Ford

Tammy Corum

Rhonda Svoboda

Makayla Gant

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LaNell Schneider

Hastings, NE, USA

One of my fav’s! ❤️❤️❤️

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Juley Kolterman

Tammy Corum

Rhonda Svoboda

Makayla Gant

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Juley Kolterman

Again...I will point out the look of pure JOY on Rick's face in this picture too. All those years you teased... Read more Again...I will point out the look of pure JOY on Rick's face in this picture too. All those years you teased me and left me in... Read more Again...I will point out the look of pure JOY on Rick's... Read more

LaNell Schneider

Hastings, NE, USA

We celebrated lots of birthdays! ❤️

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Juley Kolterman

Amanda Gant

Rhonda Svoboda

Makayla Gant

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LaNell Schneider

Hastings, NE, USA

Pumpkin carving time. ❤️ (Can’t see Juley, she was back in the high chair) ❤️

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Juley Kolterman

Rhonda Svoboda

Makayla Gant

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LaNell Schneider

Hastings, NE, USA

Daddy teaching Tammy to ride her new bike. ❤️

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Becky Krysl

Juley Kolterman

Tammy Corum

Rhonda Svoboda

Makayla Gant

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LaNell Schneider

Tammy and Daddy fishing. ❤️

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Becky Krysl

Juley Kolterman

Tammy Corum

Rhonda Svoboda

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Kyle Grimsley

2020

This is how a “Real” man trims trees!!

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Amanda Gant

LaNell Schneider

Ricky Gant

Juley Kolterman

Tammy Corum

Rhonda Svoboda

Makayla Gant

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Dan Schneider

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Rhonda Svoboda

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Juley Kolterman

Took a little drive today...how many times do you think Dad watched Gunsmoke here?

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Dan Schneider

LaNell Schneider

Makayla Gant

Becky Krysl

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LaNell Schneider

Oh my gosh! That’s awesome Juley! Oh my gosh! That’s awesome Juley! Oh my gosh! That’s awesome Juley!

Makayla Gant

I have this same picture I took when I went to stay with you!!!!!!!!!! I have this same picture I took when I went to stay with you!!!!!!!!!! I have this same picture I took when I went to stay... Read more

Juley Kolterman

Two peas in a pod ❤️ Two peas in a pod ❤️ Two peas in a pod ❤️

Stephanie Montoya

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Juley Kolterman

Pull tab tickets. ❤️ If you know my Dad then you know! Wish my lottery luck was more like his.

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Juley Kolterman

Rhonda Svoboda

LaNell Schneider

Becky Krysl

Makayla Gant

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Ricky Gant

I know there is a story about saving someone’s life and a very expensive combine while harvesting corn or wheat in Dalhart, TX.

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LaNell Schneider

Juley Kolterman

Makayla Gant

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LaNell Schneider

And that’s where my class ring is at. In the corn field. He took it off and laid it on the combine while... Read more And that’s where my class ring is at. In the corn field. He took it off and laid it on the combine while he was checking something... Read more And that’s where my class ring is at. In the corn ... Read more

Ricky Gant

Dad made the greatest sound effects and hand gestures when he told stories. I always asked him “how’d that go?” He would then repeat the sound effect and hand gestures with great emphasis.

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Becky Krysl

Rhonda Svoboda

Hannah Kolterman

Dan Schneider

LaNell Schneider

Juley Kolterman

Makayla Gant

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