NEIL TODD, 1936-2014

Todd, Neil Bowman of Newtonville, Massachusetts, passed away on Sunday, March 30, 2014 after a lengthy illness. Neil was born on January 3, 1936 in Cambridge, MA, the son of Albert Bradbury Todd, Jr. and Mary Heath Todd. Neil’s love of traveling and world affairs began when he was young, traveling and living with his military family on Army Air Corps bases in Alabama, Maine and Wales.

From the age of seven, Neil was an avid collector, specializing in comic books, coins and stamps. For many years, he was affiliated with numismatic societies and was a co-founder of Colony Coin Company in Newtonville with his partners Harvey Fenton, Charles Wallace and Arthur Fitts III.

Neil graduated from UMass/Amherst with Honors in Zoology for his publication on "The Inheritance of Taillessness in Manx Cats." While at UMass/Amherst, he met his wife, Joyce (Seat) Todd of Springfield, MA. Neil and Joyce moved to Newtonville when Neil began his doctoral studies in biology at Harvard University, completing his dissertation, The Catnip Response, in 1963. An N.I.H. post-doctoral fellowship and the Committee for the Study of Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University supported his field studies on the lions in the Gir Forest, Gujarat State, India. Dr. Todd was affiliated with and taught biology at Harvard University, Boston University, Lesley University, Emmanuel College and Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland.

He combined his love of history with his interest in genetics, engaging in extensive travel in order to map the gene frequency distribution of the domestic cat. By conducting historical research on shipping and trade routes, he was able to determine how specific coat patterns and other genetic markers were distributed throughout the world. His field studies were conducted in Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, France, Spain, Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Mexico, Curacao, and Venezuela.

For seventeen years, Dr. Todd published The Carnivore Genetics Newsletter with Roy Robinson in charge of the editorial office in London. Dr. Todd’s articles have also appeared in the Journal of Heredity, The Cornell Veterinarian, Journal of The Bombay Natural History Society, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Current Anthropology, Paleobiology, Genetica, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy and Scientific American.

Throughout his life, Neil maintained an interest in numismatics, developing a special interest in 19th century tavern checks of the British Isles and Ireland. Together with his colleague Andrew Cunningham of Ruddington, Nottingham, U.K., Neil published numerous catalogues of tavern checks, a pursuit he continued until his death.

For the past twenty years, Neil was affiliated with the New England Historical Genealogical Society where he was head of Research Services in the 1990’s. He thoroughly enjoyed helping people learn about their ancestry. He was actively involved in The Taft Family Association both as a member and as Vice President & Genealogist until illness prevented him from participating. He had also been a member of the Bartlett Family Association for many years.

In the 1980’s, he interrupted his already busy life by buying and restoring a 1931 Worcester lunch car with Charles Wallace. They purchased the Midway Diner and moved it from Shrewsbury to Pleasant Street in Watertown where they spent several years restoring it.

Neil had an adventurous and unusual life until his health began to fail a few years ago due to auto immune disease and cigarette smoking. He remained interested and well-versed in history and world affairs until his death, enjoying animated discussions with his grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joyce (Seat) Todd, two daughters, Lydia of Peabody and Amy of Cambridge, son-in-law Robert Sousa, grandchildren Griffin, Todd, Jolie and Samuel, step-grandchildren Samantha and Emily, his close cousins in New Hampshire and North Carolina, and his sister-in-law, Judi (Seat) Neylon. He enjoyed the company of friends and colleagues around the world.

To read the complete online obituary, see: Obituary for Neil Todd (burkefamilyfuneralhomes.com/book-of-memories/1842939/Todd-Neil/obituary.php)

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