Tod John Simonson

14 June 1966 – 6 June 2020

The world lost a precious son, brother, father, uncle and friend when Tod John Simonson passed away from a heart attack on June 6th 2020 at the Swedish hospital in Seattle, just 1 week shy of his 54th birthday.

Tod’s journey began on the 14th of June 1966 in Seattle, Washington, as the older of 2 children born to the union of his parents, Terry & Gary Simonson. He has a younger sister, Joann.

Tod attended West Woodland Elementary, then James Monroe middle school. He was really into sports in his youth, playing on school football and baseball teams.

Tod attended Franklin High for a year, then transferred to Ballard high school, where he graduated in 1984 – being one of several generations of Simonson’s who graduated from Ballard high.

During high school, Tod was into cars and girls. He enjoyed drag racing and used to race cars and motorcycles with his dad.

Then after he graduated, Tod followed in his dad’s footsteps and started racing on his own, while his dad sponsored his racing team. Together, they built their own race cars, trucks and trailers.

He raced in the demolition derby, then at Evergreen Speedway.

His dad was the Crew Chief and Tod’s best friend (Greg Smith) was the head mechanic.

Later, Tod advanced to racing with the NASCAR Bomber Association. This required a special racing license and the whole crew were required to get a NASCAR license to race.

Tod was an extremely talented driver. In fact, he held the racing championship at Monroe Speedway for 4 years in a row.

For work, Tod started out at Nelson Chevrolet, where he worked for 17 years in the Parts Department, eventually becoming the Parts Manager.

Tod then went into sales for the Bardahl Oil company and after 2 years, he went to work for Wesmar in Mukilteo for 4 years, selling flush chemicals to automotive repair shops.

In his personal life, Tod was blessed with his daughter Sydney, who was born on February 20th 2006.

Tod loved his daughter with all of his heart. She was his world.

Tod was modest, kind-hearted and loving.

He was also a hard worker, charismatic and well-liked. He enjoyed playing on an adult softball league as well as a bowling league. Tod was an awesome bowler, starting at the age of 8. Once he even achieved a perfect score of 300.

He was adventuresome, loved speed, driving fast and taking risks. He was the dare-devil, Evil Knievel type.

Tod will always be remembered for his big heart, love for his family and friends and for his passion for racing.

Tod is preceded in death by his maternal grandparents Bonnie and Everett Furney, his paternal grandparents Roger and Fern Simonson, his cousin Michelle Koski and his beloved dog, Rosie.

Those who remain to cherish Tod’s memory include his father Gary and stepmother Arleigh, his mother Terry, sister Joann and niece Kayla, his beloved daughter Sydney and best friend Greg Smith as well as the rest of his extended family and many friends.

Visitation will be held at Evergreen Washelli on June 16th, starting at 10am-11:30am, followed by a graveside service at 12:00pm.

And when the current restrictions are lifted, a Celebration of Life will be held for all of his family and friends to attend as well as a Memorial Lap at Evergreen Speedway in Tod’s honor.

We will all miss Tod. And we will treasure him deeply in our hearts, forever.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at the Evergreen Washelli funeral home website for the Simonson family.