Gene Autry Todd

Gene Autry Todd was born January 29, 1938, and was raised by his parents, Edward Wilbur and Clara Stephens Todd in Wilmington, NC. Clara’s favorite cowboy was Gene Autry, so her son was first named Autry Todd. Later, she changed his name to Gene Autry Todd. A lot of his Todd family and Stephens family refer to him as Autry while other people call him Gene.

As a young man he enjoyed playing basketball with a beautiful one hand jump shot. His talents were best shown when he made the team at Sunset Junior High School. In his early 40s he coached Silver Lake Baptist Church youth basketball team for 4 years. He taught the fundamentals of playing basketball to his first-year team that did not have much experience. His team grew in talent and stature each year. During the 3rd and 4th year he led his team to win back-to-back championship titles.

Gene owned and operated his own successful retail tire business for 40 plus years known as Gene’s Tire Service. He built his business on honesty and integrity. The new owners bought his business that included his trusted name.

In his retirement years Gene owned Todd’s Used Cars. He enjoyed the challenges of repairing cars and trucks. He stayed busy buying and selling vehicles. Barbara has often said that working on cars kept Gene going past his daily aches and pain. When Gene was asked how he was feeling he would often say, “I always hurt, some days worse than others.” With his car business he met old friends and made new friends by attending the weekly auto auctions.

When he was 19 years of age with a 29-inch waist, he asked Christine Prevatte for her approval to marry her daughter, Barbara Prevatte. Christine agreed with one exception; Barbara had to be 18. A short time later, Barbara turned 18 and 4 days later they were married in Christine’s home. For the next 67 years, they grew together through the good times and storms of life, they continued to love one another.

Gene and Barbara celebrated Charlene becoming a part of their lives followed by the birth of Jean Renee and Troy Kevin.

For over 50 years Gene has been a long-time faithful member of Silver Lake Baptist Church. He was a devoted Christian and honored his walk of faith by helping others around him. Gene’s faith was deep and fervent. Daily he spent time praying while holding his wife’s hands.

Gene is survived by his wife, Barbara Prevatte of 67 years, daughters Charlene (Bob), Jean Renee Todd Merritt, and son, Troy Kevin Todd (Donna), grandchildren Jessica (Wes), Jeremy (Kristin), Brittany (Sean), Micah (Hannah), Kristen, Tyler, Woody, Miranda aka Amanda, great grandchildren Elise, Jayden, Ava, Rhett, Jack, Elliott, Riley, Oaklyn, honorary family members, Danny, Krista.

Visitation for Gene will be held on Monday, March 3, 2025 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Silver Lake Baptist Church, 4715 Carolina Beach Rd, Wilmington, North Carolina 28412.

Funeral Service will start at 11:30 AM with Pastor Steve Gasque officiating. Interment will follow at Oleander Memorial Gardens, 306 Bradley Drive, Wilmington, NC, N.C. 28409.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like you to donate in Gene's name to the Silver Lake Baptist Church Missionary Fund, silverlakebaptist.us

Condolences to the family may be sent to www.coblegreenlawn.com

Eulogy for Gene Todd / March 03, 2025

In the scriptures, a family gathered. Jesus was their dear friend. They had sent a message that their loved one was sick, please come. But Jesus did not run to them. He did not go quickly; in fact, he waited. Hours turned over and over and over, still no Jesus. Then, the sickness took its toll, the loved one dies. Now, NOW, now? Jesus appears. One relative ran to him and from a hurting heart through tears said to him, “If only you had been here. We prayed for health, and he died. Our loved one died! Jesus, where were you?”

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one believing in Me, even though he dies, he will live.” Dying? Living? This seems so strange…

In 4 hours, the chaotic winds were running like a hurricane, hard to think, hard to believe; but Gene’s life was slipping away. Renee called me from Mom & Dad’s home about his medical condition since paramedics had been working on him. I called Mom as Renee drove to the medical center to share Dad’s condition with me.

I called Donna at 2:30am. She was scheduled to fly back at 1130pm. You know, I went to bed at 9pm thinking, “My wife will not be home until 1130pm, oh yeah, I got all day to clean the house up.” Then, the phone call from Renee changed everything.

Donna called my son-in-law Wes to see if he could come over as I could not leave my elderly mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s. Wes agreed so I unlocked the door, turned on the lights by the entrance area and went back to my bedroom trying to pack my clothes. Then, I heard the door open and saw whom I expected - Wes - but also unexpectedly my daughter Jessica. This was the first time I broke down and cried and cried. Jessica came to my home to drive me from Greenville to Wilmington as she did not want me to be alone. I texted Renee to let her know that we were on the road driving towards Wilmington.

Not long after that, Renee calls, we don’t think Dad will last much longer. Would you like to say something even though he is out of it, he may still hear, we don’t know? She put her phone to his ear and through tears I spoke to Daddy. I told him how I loved him, how proud I was of him for fighting to stay alive through the years, and again, how I loved him so much. Goodbye Daddy, I love you.

When my father died, my mother and sister rejoiced and thanked God. My Mom knew without a shadow of a doubt that the man she had loved for 67 years was experiencing Jesus. She knew Gene was not hurting anymore. She rejoices that there is a heaven with our Savior and the Word of God is true and faithful.

My mother’s heart is heavy, in fact each one in here has a heavy heart because Gene… Autry… Todd is gone. My mother deeply misses his presence.

Let me share with you the life of Gene Autry Todd

My paternal grandmother, Clara Stephens Todd named my Dad Autry Todd. Later, around the elementary school years she named him Gene Autry Todd. So, the Todd family and Stephens family most often called my Dad “Autry” on through the years. Everyone else refers to my Dad as “Gene.”

Earlier in his life, for 18 years, Gene used to drive his rollback car carrier for working with vehicles, to help a friend, or family member. These past years he had to sell it. With a declining vision he was not able to drive safely. In his yard there - was and still is - an empty spot where he always parked his rollback. A couple of weeks ago he told me as he has before, “I sure miss my rollback.”

Between his ears was a brilliant mind, so much knowledge. He had an amazing talent at how he could figure out how to take something apart and fix it. He often said, ‘If I studied something, if I could look at it from different views, I could usually figure it out.” Gene could do so much from painting automobiles, body repair, replacing parts, and rebuilding alternators and starters. He once found a 2-ton truck with the cab that rotated forward, it had been damaged by a fire, and he was able to slowly and meticulously rewire the truck. Gene… Autry… never walked away from a hard mechanical challenge.

I want to be “honest” with you about my Dad’s mechanical talents. Are you ready? Here goes: that genetic molecule, that DNA gene of his mechanical brilliance, yeah, it “did not split off” and enter my body. Nope, nada.

Gene… Autry… Todd had Stephen’s blood in him. He had a trait just like Bill and Jerry Stephens. They knew so much, they could do so much, they had these great talents but… they did not know how to pass it on. Oh, they could give you a “brief try” but then it was like, “just let me do it.”

A couple of years ago my son’s car broke down in a parking lot 3 miles from Dad’s house. We decided to go ahead and eat supper then we would go get his car with Dad’s rollback. It was dark outside, I greatly encouraged Dad to let me drive. So, I was the driver of his rollback. Micah was in the middle and Dad was on the passenger side.

Ok, I admit the gear shift was a little tight. I will admit there were times when the truck seemed bigger than the lane we traveled. Dad kept telling me how to do this and don’t do that and we got to our destination. Dad loaded the truck. I walked around just making sure the chains and straps were snug. I opened the driver’s door ready to drive us home. Looking up at the steering wheel, I saw my Dad in the driver’s seat. He had this big “smirky grin” to signify, “I am driving, you get over to the passenger seat, I’ve got this!” Now wait, it was 3 miles, only 3 miles that I drove, come on, what did I do wrong?

In the past 5 years Gene… Autry… drove his rollback carrying a vehicle towards Whiteville for the weekly auto sale. Renee would go with him to watch over him. A mile from the truck-stop near Riegelwood, the left front tire blew, the truck tilted. Renee said Daddy was calm and he fought the wheel to keep the truck moving. He made it to the truck stop and unloaded the vehicle. Then he went inside the truck stop to let them know he would be back tomorrow morning. And then …like nothing happened, he drove the vehicle to the sale. Yep, that was our Dad!

Many people at Whiteville or Wilmington auto sales were amazed that Gene was still able to actively attend and participate in car sales for the past 12 years due to his age.

All of Dad’s mechanical brilliance was kept entrapped in his mind as his body failed him. The last 6 years he could not get his ears, eyes, neck, lower back, and feet to work as well as his mind.

He used to be able to clearly see what he was working on and now, it was blurry. He used to. He used to.

He used to stand 6 feet tall and could easily throw 100 tires onto his truck and then jump up there and lace them in so snug, but that was then, not now. He used to. He used to.

He used to teach those who worked with him or for him how to tie the laced tires using a special knot so that they did not fall off the truck. He used to. He used to.

He used to easily stand straight and tall and would stride across Gene’s Tire Service, walk the grounds of a car sale, or easily walk from his house to his shop. He used to. He used to.

The years passed… Gene became hunched over not able to stand straight, he had to walk with legs that looked frail as he would often stumble when walking outside. His frame was wobbly. In the kitchen Mom encouraged him to sit on a stool by the stove to cook his eggs. He would also help Mom with the dishes using a stool to keep his body at ease. He used to. He used to.

When he wanted to go work on something in the shop next door, he would find strategic places to stop and rest as he would say, “just letting my back reboot.” If he was walking from the garage to the house Mom would tell me how he usually would stop at the front doorsteps and sit, to rest and let his back reboot. He used to. He used to.

40 years ago, Gene… Autry… started working on salvage vehicles with all these wires hanging down, with stuff missing, crushed or bent. And he would start to put it back together 1 piece at a time. The diligence to sit on a little rolling chair with a headlamp on his head, with shop lights laying around for light, and he would tediously work on these cars and trucks that he envisioned being restored. He actually enjoyed doing this type of work, piece by piece.

Growing up, I watched Dad eat breakfast at our home or sometimes in a coffee shop for breakfast. He always, always ate the same breakfast, grits, eggs, and bacon. Sometimes toast. Passing through Oklahoma one morning, Dad ordered his usual breakfast starting with grits. The waitress paused, kind of wrinkled her nose, looked at my Dad and said, “What is grits? We have hash browns.” Daddy blurted out, “You don’t have grits? What kind of foreign county is this?” Yep, true story, he did that. His breakfast was like a “southern heritage;” it was the way he was raised from his southern born family members.

Then about 12 years ago, something happened. Maybe I should not say this I don’t want to damage his name or image. But my Dad changed. You know how he would pray before every meal, especially breakfast? Well, that did not change.

What I am getting ready to share with you would make his southern ancestors turn over in their graves. Again, please don’t judge him. Here it goes, my Dad started to …. put…. ketchup… on his eggs.

Oh my gosh. Are you the man that raised me? Was my Dad consumed by an alien? How could he do this? A few weeks ago, while visiting for several days, I had the privilege of fixing his breakfast. It was his southern heritage type breakfast. I didn’t want to do it, I didn't want to do it, I DID NOT want to do it, but I finally did. I finally bit my lip and kept a calm composure and asked him, “Do you want some ketchup with your eggs?” He said, “Sure, that will be good! I used my inside voice as I turned towards the refrigerator, this is not my father. This is not my father. This is not my father. It has to be an alien!! SMILE!!

Gene… Autry… was pretty good at shooting basketball. Renee and I could never hold the ball and shoot like him. He had the textbook way to hold and shoot. He was a talented player who was able to play basketball for Sunset Junior High School.

In his early 40s he coached Silver Lake Baptist Church youth basketball team for 4 years. The requirement to play, you had to attend church. This was a good way to get young people into church.

[I DID NOT USE THE FOLLOWING IN THE EULOGY BUT IT HELPS TO REMEMER OUR CHURCH BASKETBALL TEAM]

Our church team played at the gym at Carolina Beach. Inside the gym there were these rafters so you could not put a high arch on your free throws or outside shots. The floor was tile and when it rained, humidity made the floors slippery. There was a lady at the entrance door who had a money box. She collected an entrance fee. Sometimes when two players were racing down the floor and bumped into each other under the basket, there were those times when they ran into the stool holding the money box. Coins went everywhere. The game was paused until the coins were collected.

The seats in this 1 level gym were only 1 row, right beside the court. They were made of wood that covered your lower back and legs. The seats became amplified as fans including my mother, Patsy Kennedy and other ladies plus young people would kick the lower section with their heels. It sounded like an amplified drum. The cheering and the drum sound turned that little gym into a roar during key moments of the game.

[THE FOLLOWING WAS SPOKEN DURING THE EULOGY]

Gene had a mixed allotment of players with age and experience. Some of the players had never played organized basketball. There were some who did not understand that there was not a 3 seconds penalty while on defense. Gene started with the fundamentals of the game. My mother said that his team “set a record” during the first year. No other team had ever lost by so many points!

In his 3rd year, his team won the championship and went undefeated. After the season, 2 key players “had to leave” the team. This appeared suspicious. Did they fail a random drug test? Was there criminal activity or mischief? What went wrong? Why did Jimmy Talton and Kevin Lee “step from winning a championship” then having to leave the team? My Dad knew why they had to leave the team, he just knew.

It has been a long time; it is probably safe now to say why Jimmy and Kevin had to leave the team. It was BECAUSE …. They were offered the opportunity to play for a school. COME ON, what a letdown, we thought that there was going to be a hidden secret revealed! Come On, what a letdown!

Coaching in his 4th year, the challenge was getting a good balance for his new and former players who varied with different heights, speed, and ability. Before the start of the season, Gene spoke to Jerry Stephens, his relative that “he loved like a brother” about his son playing on the team. Jerry’s son, Barry, stood at 6’3 and agreed to play for Gene. Now, his team had more balance. This team played well together during the season and eventually advanced to the championship game.

During the championship game, Gene was on the side lines with George Kennedy. Gene kept his composure, he never yelled or belittled a player. No one can accuse him of losing his anger and throwing a chair on the floor as a college coach once did. No former player can say how Gene chewed them out as he was seen as a “calm natured coach.”

When Barbara’s father first met Gene, long before they ever dated, he told her, “I do not like him because he is too quiet, must be up to something no good.” That calming trait never left Gene. During the heat of the moment while in a game, he never blew up but always stayed calm.

What an honor it is as his son to remember how my Dad coached to build character into young people, not only to be better players but also better all-around people. The 4th year of coaching, Gene won his 2nd championship.

Let me share with you what has been going on the past several years with my father. My mother witnessed how hard it has been on Gene… Autry’s health. She watched him struggle to walk hunched over with all his aches and pains. She witnessed his health failing as he spent more and more time in bed. Mom saw those times when the once rigorous vibrant man seemed “so depressed,” because “life was not fun anymore.” Why wake up if there is only going to be constant pain, limited vision, impaired hearing and now a hurting foot?

The last several years, Gene has been losing his vision. He has often called Renee over to the shop to read to him what something said, or to take a picture of the fuse box to make it larger. He would get her to look something up on her computer in order to learn how something worked on a vehicle and how to do a repair. Daddy also got Renee to look up different parts along with the price. If he approved, he would let her order the part.

Before this cold season he had Mom walk with him as he checked on the winter protection level in the vehicle radiators including his diesel tractor. Mom was his eyes. As Daddy put in the winter protection thermometer, Mom would let him know the protective level reading. Mom and Dad were a team!

Within the past several months, Mom became the driver as his eyesight was not safe to drive. This was a setback. Gene… Autry was used to getting in his Ranger truck that had a good looking passenger side and a not so good driver’s side with a door that looked beat-up. With a truck like that, he would still go places unashamedly. Now, he couldn’t. He “especially liked” going to Bojangles where he would get his sausage biscuit and senior’s coffee while wearing his “Navy hat”.

Gene was never in the Navy; he wore it because his son was in the Navy. People would often say, “Thank you for your service!” Then he would smile and often tell them it was his son who was in the Navy. He loved wearing that hat!

Mom and Dad have grown deeper in love through the years. Mom has been “the rock” to keep Daddy alive. Daddy did his own medicine tray and could get testy if Mom asked him about taking his medicine. Daddy would often say, “I’ll get in a little while.”

Dad would tell Mom he loved her all through their 67 years of marriage.

Daddy had a baby monitor by his bed for the past several years. This allowed Mom to sleep at night while keeping her ear attentive to his sounds. She would often check on him through the night as he was a quiet sleeper. Sometimes she touched his neck or face to see if he was breathing. While touching him, he would grunt at her, and she knew he was okay. Some nights she would hear Daddy talking. She would listen and find out that Daddy was “simply praying” in the middle of the night.

Mom and Dad “learned the art” to get past the moment, to forgive and move forward each year.

The night before my marriage, I was ready for Daddy, a devout Christian man to give me some tips on marriage. I expected to hear some Bible passage; some key verse or story that he found valuable. Daddy looked at me and simply said, “Sometimes you need to take a walk around the block.” What! I need something more, what is this about taking a walk around the block? Then, through the progression of time, WOW, that was a powerful lesson to live.

Daddy always told Mom thank you for the things that she did for him. Each morning or evening, they would hold hands and have their prayer time. Gene’s prayers were so deep, straight from the heart. When I would come and stay with Mom and Dad, I heard him pray for family, friends, someone they heard about, leaders, pastors, and missionaries.

Gene had a way of praying. If he couldn’t remember a name of a family member, he would give that person a different name … and keep right on praying!

Gene Autry Todd loved God. He loved his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He loved many within the family and those who were close to the family. He especially loved his wife all through their years.

Looking back 67 years ago, briefly after she graduated high school, with her mother’s permission, Barbara turned 18 and was married 4 days later at her mother’s home. On the day of their marriage, Gene and Barbara began their marriage journey down the pathway of life. There were the normal and not so normal circumstances of life, those ups and downs, and moments to acquire new lessons from the different seasons of life. Daddy put to good practice those words he shared with me, “Sometimes you’ve got to take a walk around the block.”

Daddy learned that there are no winners and losers in a marriage. Rather, it is 2 people moving forward, step by step, ready to always love, and always forgive and to always take time to say, thank you. For 67 years, Gene Autry Todd said “I love you” Barbara Todd again and again, and again.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one believing in Me, even though he dies, he will live again.”

Now Lord we know. We believe that death does not have the final word. From our walk of faith we know that we know, there is life after death in heaven. Yes Lord! Yes. Gene Autry Todd has no more suffering, no more pain, no more crying, and all things are made new.

My Mother, Sister and I are grateful that Daddy no longer has to suffer. Thank you, Jesus! Amen.