Todd Johnathan Tidwell

Todd Johnathan Tidwell was born November 17, 1975, in Roswell, NM, to Dennis Todd Tidwell and Kathy (Pinkston) Tidwell. He died Wednesday, September 11, 2019 in Santa Clara, CA, at the age of 43 years, 10 months, and 25 days.
Todd grew up in Artesia, NM, graduating with the Artesia High School Class of 1994. Following high school, he attended Oklahoma State University to study Art and Computer Science. Todd soon realized that college was not for him. He returned home to work with his dad on his drilling rigs. In August of 1996, he moved to CA. By this time, he had decided his future was not Art but Computers. Technical Analyst for Sony Corporation was his first job shortly after he arrived in CA. Next came Java Developer for USWEB, then Senior Applications Engineer for Red Gorilla, and later Senior Technical Lead at MentalShock. In 2001, he along with a couple of friends, founded IceBurst Interactive. After three years with IceBurst, he moved on to Senior Applications Director for NetScreen Technologies. There were other jobs, but the last few years were spent at GitPrime as CTO. Todd remained with GitPrime when it was acquired by PluralSight a few months ago.

Todd was fortunate to have two sets of wonderful grandparents, Clyde and Vivian Tidwell and John and Bonnie Pinkston. All Todd’s school years were spent in Artesia near his Tidwell grandparents, but his summers and holidays were spent in Dougherty, Oklahoma, with his mother’s parents. After Vivian’s death, Clyde remarried, and he was blessed with another grandmother, Lake, who loved him like her own. Each year when school ended in NM, Todd, his brother, and mother came home to Dougherty in a car loaded with stereos, video game systems, TV’s, bicycles, and computers as the boys got older. These summers created lifelong friendships, some amazing adventures, and so many memories.

Todd was a gifted artist and a born computer engineer. His experience with art started very early in his grandmother Vivian’s “paint room” where she would set up a table for him with paints and pencils when he was two and three years old while she worked on her paintings. Later, during the summers in Dougherty, he would sit for hours and listen and watch his cousin, Don Pinkston, draw and give Todd tips on his own drawings. When computers came along, Todd was soon totally absorbed in technology and the Internet. Through Jr. and High School, he learned programming and everything else he could that related to computers. He worked after school in high school with a computer technician doing installations and networking in the school system and in local businesses.

Todd’s interests were many. As a child, he was fascinated with superhero comic book characters, especially Superman and Batman. This interest continued throughout his life. He drew and painted his favorite comic book superheroes and created many of his own. He collected comic books, comic book memorabilia, and his collection is massive. Through Jr. High and High School, Todd was seldom without a large art tablet full of his latest drawings and paintings. For a high school art class project when he was 15 years old, Todd chose to do a pencil drawing of one of the greatest influences in his life, his grandfather, John Pinkston. It is one of our family’s most prized possessions and won the top award at a Texas Tech University high school art show. The walls of his house are covered with his grandmother Vivian’s paintings, Don Pinkston’s drawings and paintings, and Todd’s own art. He loved books and reading like his mother and grandmother Bonnie. His shelves were filled with his favorites.

Todd had the Pinkston’s need to know how things work and their knack for repairing anything broken. Taking things apart and putting them back together started very early on his mother’s music box collection and continued for the rest of his life. He spent time in the summers with his mechanic grandfather John, “fixing” things, working on lawnmowers, go-carts and anything else that needed it. He loved classic cars, and in the summer of 1992, Todd and John overhauled a 1955 Ford, and he drove it home to Artesia and throughout his high school years. He loved to build things like his grandfather Clyde. He built a shop in his garage where he did woodworking. He had plans to build a home with a large shop, so he could build furniture.

Todd was a son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend. He had his Dad’s grit, up-beat outlook on life, and determination to do whatever he set out to do. Todd never saw obstacles. When something came up, it was always, “This is what we need to do.” He was funny, generous, loyal, kind and brilliant. The gift of his life to all of us who loved him will be treasured as long we live. We know where he is, but his loss is staggering. When his brother was asked what he would want to say in Todd’s obituary, he said just say that he was a good man who took care of his mother and brother. That was so true, and the lives of his mother and brother are forever altered by his passing.





Todd was preceded in death by an infant sister, his father, Dennis, his grandparents Vivian and Clyde Tidwell, and Bonnie and John Pinkston. He is survived by his mother, Kathy, of Dougherty, OK, his brother Trenton, of San Diego, CA, adopted brother Ralph Beck of Dougherty; his aunt Patty Bonham of Sulphur, OK, cousins Amy Bonham Young and husband Chris and daughters Emily and Sarah of Bentonville, AR, Beth Bonham Pulliam and son Joseph of Las Vegas, NV, Tim Walters and wife Billie and children Hannah, Tristan and Ava, all of Blanchard, OK and Joe Bonham; his special grandmother Lake Tidwell of Artesia, NM, his stepmother Linda Tidwell of Artesia, NM; as well as many other Pinkston, Tidwell and Haldeman cousins, his California family; Tonya, Eric, Matilda, and Scott Gatejen of San Ramon, CA, and so many friends.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, September 21, 2019 at the Dougherty Baptist Church in Dougherty with Pastors Willard McCartney, Jr. and Alan McCoy officiating. Burial will be held at the Dougherty Cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers will be Chis Young, Darryl Carter, Ralph Beck, Scott Sanford, Rhett Hale and John Rheed Hale. Honorary Bearers will be Don Pinkston, Tim Walters, Mack “Sonny” Hale and Glenn “Diddle” Hale.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home Friday evening from 5-7 PM.

Memorial donations may be made to The Dougherty Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 14, Dougherty, OK 73032 or Dougherty Baptist Church, P.O. Box 70, Dougherty, OK 73032.

On line condolences may be offered at halesfuneralhomes.com.

Services are entrusted to HALE’S FUNERAL HOME, DAVIS, OK.