By By Lydia Grimes – features reporter
Ralph Todd never held office and never played professional sports, but he was famous in his own right, for making some of the best sweets, especially doughnuts, in town.
Todd owned and operated Todd's Bakery in the Brewton Heights Shopping Center for more than 35 years and the Brewton area lost a friend when he died Friday after an extended illness.
Todd always gave credit for his baking skills to his stint in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was on a ship that carried troops overseas and brought back the wounded.
After the war ended, Todd came to Brewton, married Eloise Chavers in 1947, and worked in a bakery in Greenville and then Atmore for a short period of time before he went into the bakery business in the Brewton Bakery, which was located in downtown Brewton. He did decide to try something else one time. He went to work on an oil rig and lost two fingers before he came back to the bakery business.
Mrs. Todd remembers those times well.
The business moved, and the Todds made it their business home for more than 35 years.
Todd's Bakery became one of the most popular spots in town. The football team and cheerleaders made it a regular stop, while travelers learned the place to pick up the best doughnuts around. The bakery also became the place for people to meet, have a cup of coffee, gossip about everything, and pull a few tricks on each other. The stories they told were many and varied, and friends said Todd was always right in the middle of it all.
Jacki Lynn, who worked in the shopping center in the A&P, remembered Todd fondly.
Even though Todd will no longer be making doughnuts, some of his other recipes have been acquired by Bakies Bake Shop in East Brewton.
Bakies also bought Todd's equipment and plans to start turning out doughnuts on Oct. 13.
Full obituary information for Todd is on page 3A.