Todd Wesley Krodle was born April 6‚ 1970‚ in Greenville‚ Texas‚ the firstborn of Richard and Nell Krodle. He was as close to the perfect son as any boy could be and was a hero to his brother‚ Kurt. He graduated from Greenville High School in 1988 and earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education from East Texas State University in 1992. Todd was the type of person that any parent would want their son to grow to be or for their daughter to marry.

At age nine‚ Todd put his faith in Jesus Christ and followed Him with his whole life. While in high school‚ his youth minister challenged him to live his life by a simple statement: ‘I’m Third.’ For the rest of his life‚ he put his relationship with Jesus first‚ his relationship to others second‚ and he always put himself third.

In 1986‚ Todd went on his first date with Kelli‚ who quickly became his best friend. Todd and Kelli dated for almost nine years before marrying in 1995. Todd knew early that he would spend his life loving and cherishing Kelli‚ which he did until his final breath. They welcomed their son‚ Cade‚ in 1998‚ and their daughter‚ Caroline‚ in 2001. His children were his greatest source of pride‚ and he cared for and loved them with every ounce of his being. Todd worked hard so that he could attend to practically every need of his family; that brought him deep joy.

In 1993‚ he became a member of the Dallas Fire Department and Rookie Class 239. After rookie school‚ Todd was assigned to Station 26 as a fire rescue officer and paramedic. He was promoted to driver-engineer and transferred to Station 35 for almost a year before moving back to 26’s‚ where he would spend the rest of his career.

Todd loved his coworkers and the community that he served‚ and he was equally loved in return. A firefighter at 26’s described Todd’s first shift as their lieutenant‚ ‘That day‚ the greatest officer we had ever known walked through the door.’ When his crew was asked to describe their lieutenant‚ they said:

He was the epitome of character and integrity. He taught us that doing the right thing may take longer‚ make you sweat more‚ and may not win you many friends. You could never outwork Todd; all you could hope for is to work beside him.

Todd Krodle was what every man should strive to be – the consummate husband and father‚ a faithful son and brother‚ and a man of integrity and character with a relentless work ethic. We will miss Todd each day of the rest of our lives‚ but we are better because he was part of our lives.