Wanda Jean Todd

May 14, 1946 – August 25, 2014

Wanda Hendrickson Todd, 68, passed away August 25 at her home in Fulshear, Texas surrounded by her husband of 49 years, Ronald Todd, and her children, Rev. Rachel Poysky of Katy, Texas and Bradley Todd of Alexandria, Virginia.

Mrs. Todd was an educator who spent over 30 years teaching early elementary education and reading in Tennessee and South Carolina.

The daughter of the late Bennie and Betty Strickland Hendrickson, she was the fifth generation in her family to be raised on family property in the Clack’s Gap community near Harriman in East Tennessee. After a period of traveling throughout the Eastern United States as newlyweds in the employ of AT&T Construction, she and her husband, Ron, raised both their children on that same East Tennessee land. They moved to Greenville, South Carolina in 1998 and then to Fulshear in 2010 to be near grandchildren.

A follower of Christ, Wanda was a charter member of Pine Ridge Baptist Church in Harriman, Tennessee and was its long-time organist. In Texas, she was active in Katy’s Grand Lakes Presbyterian Church as a member of the chancel choir and the mission committee. She volunteered with Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services and in a variety of ministries to the elderly at her home churches throughout her life.

After attending a two-room country school as a child, Wanda earned her undergraduate degree at night from the University of Tennessee in 1978 while teaching full time and raising toddlers. She earned a Master’s in Education from Tennessee Tech University and also attended University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky and Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

A lover of classical and religious music, a quilter, and a knitter, Wanda was a creative person who wrote a good deal of her own classroom materials. In her retirement she channeled that energy to her four grandchildren and wrote customized children’s books for each of them. Wanda took joy in wildflowers and birds and successfully pursued certification as a Master Gardener in Texas.

Wanda is survived by her husband, Ron, her son Brad, 44, her daughter Rachel Poysky, 40, her daughter-in-law Elizabeth Todd and her son-in-law Dr. James Poysky, four grandchildren ranging in ages from 5 to 11, nephews Tyler and Jeremy Hendrickson, both of Long Beach, California, Dr. Ruth Ann Nevils of Rolla, Missouri and many extended family members. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her brothers David and Larry.

A memorial service celebrating Wanda’s life will be held at 2 pm on August 28 in the chapel at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas with Wanda’s former pastor Dr. Richard Gibbons of First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina, officiating. She requested memorial donations be made to Coach to Cure MD (www.CoachToCureMD.org), a national charity initiative started by her two children involving America’s football coaches to further research to cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a lethal genetic disorder affecting Wanda’s grandson.