Todd Rankin Williams

Todd came into this world sooner than anyone expected and left far sooner than anyone was ready for.

On eighty-nine ninety (as his birthday was known), Todd decided to interrupt his family’s summer vacation on Cape Cod and join them. That was just the beginning of a wild, fun-filled childhood, most of which was spent with an incredible group of friends from the Autumn Drive neighborhood.

At age eight, a bribe from his mom to buy him a coveted Super Soaker water gun in exchange for reading a Harry Potter book led to a lifetime of reading, learning, and knowledge. There wasn’t a topic that Todd wasn’t conversant in or a fact he didn’t know.

Todd attended elementary and high school in Tolland, CT, graduating from Tolland High School in 2008. He received a B.S. degree in software engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2013.

A college internship at Amazon resulted in a full-time job as a software engineer after graduation, along with a move to Seattle. Todd fell in love with the city of Seattle, attending concerts and soccer games, enjoying the local food scene, and hanging with friends at trivia contests and game nights.

Todd almost single-handedly kept the Life is Good company in business; he had a never-ending supply of their t-shirts. “Almost” was used because his dad supplies the other 50% of the company’s business. It was virtually impossible to tell them apart in their daily LIG gear.

Todd had a whole host of friends, but there was no friendship greater than the one he had with his sister Cbear. They formed an inseparable bond from the moment Claire scribbled on his head with markers an hour after he came home from the hospital.

Left to mourn Todd and cherish his memory are his parents Jo-Anne Rankin and John Williams of Vernon, CT, his sister Claire Rankin Williams and her partner Patrick Thien of Melbourne, Australia, his maternal grandmother Joan (Rasmussen) Rankin of Highland Mills, NY, and a multitude of aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was predeceased by his paternal grandparents, Ernest and Hildreth (Elliott) Williams, and his maternal grandfather, William Rankin.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Child’s Play (https://childsplaycharity.org/), an organization about which Todd was passionate, or to a charity of your choice.

There will be a celebration of life for Todd from 3:00pm - 5:00pm on August 1, 2026 on the roof of the Commons at Ballard (5621 22 Ave NW, Seattle). There will be a second celebration of life in Connecticut from 4:00pm – 7:00pm on August 10, 2026 at the Lodge at Crandall Park II (124 Cider Mill Rd., Tolland).