William Austin Todd was born February 17, 1988, in Escondido, CA. Willie grew up in Oceanside, CA, and then moved to Leander, Texas. Our “Willie” is deeply missed by long time friends and family from these areas that he grew up in. He was a brilliant student, and received many honors for excellent grades and achievements. He played football, baseball, and loved to ride his skateboard. When he got really good on his skateboard he was so proud of himself and enjoyed the freeness of the sport. Willie loved the ocean, riding bikes (sports), animals, and being a big brother to his twin brother, Johnny Asa Todd, and his younger sister, Jeanne Marie Todd.

Willie was a loving, caring, easy going child. He loved children and his pet kitten Chester, which we still have and care for 13 yrs later. Willie was very sensitive to people, especially if they had hurt feelings for whatever reason. He would feel their pain and it would bother him. He gave very freely of himself with his open and loving soul. My son gave of himself even after death, for which he would have approved joyfully. That’s the kind of young man our Willie was. His favorite color is yellow; no other color symbolizes sunshine, joy, happiness, intellect, and energy; this fits our William perfectly!

Willie was able to give three lives back to his transplant recipients that we know of thus far. He donated his liver into a 48 year old married man with two children from central Texas. He had cirrhosis, and had been waiting for two years for this gift of life. A 35 year old man from central Texas was blessed with the gift of life through the right kidney lovingly donated by William. He had been waiting over three years for a kidney. William’s left kidney was transplanted into another 48 year old man with two children who suffered with high blood pressure and kidney failure. I can tell you, being Willie’s Mother , that these words do not eliminate the pain and sorrow I, Willie’s father, John ,older brother Ben, twin brother Johnny, and sister Jeanne feel ,and will never, ever forget. I do find comfort in knowing that these selflessness precious gifts have given others a second chance at sharing their new lives with their families and friends. I thank God our son was healthy and that we could offer these gifts; he had many other organs harvested as well. This was a painstaking decision to make as you can imagine. Our Willie is a donor hero giving to someone in need; donating his final gifts, doing his final deed.

I thank God for giving me the honor to be Willie’s mother. He was a treasure; and had a twinkle in his eye that was like a diamond in the sky. He is in our hearts and burned in our souls, we will never forget this wonderful hero that we so love and miss. There is not a day that goes by that Willie, our son, our child, is not thought of; a hero in our world, yes indeed!