David Eli Toedt, 58, of Canyon Lake, died November 18, 2020. He was born on May 8,1962 at the Châteauroux-Déols Airbase in France. David was the baby of a U.S. Air Force family; during his childhood the family lived in France; Commerce, Texas; the Washington, D.C. area; Eglin A.F.B., Florida; and finally San Antonio.
David attended a parochial school in San Antonio. His sister Martha shared a story: David’s sixth-grade teacher, a nun, mentioned to him in passing that she wished she had a bicycle. David and his dad went to junk yards and David put a bike together for her from spare parts.
David graduated from Antonian Catholic High School in 1978 (at age 16), then attended the University of Texas San Antonio. After three years, David took a hiatus from school to focus on his fulltime business. He would say that his sister, Liz, made him take a vacation in California with her to decompress, since he was both working too hard and going to school at the same time, and needed a break. David went back to school to complete his degree in 1998, receiving his bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in information systems technology, while working full time, married and with two small children.
David was an Eagle Scout. As a youth, he completed a Philmont high-adventure trek; his dad, one of the accompanying adults, later enjoyed telling that he’d lost 25 pounds on the trail. Years later, David returned to Philmont as one of the adult leaders with his eldest son, Robert; this time it was David’s turn to express joy that he’d had to tighten his own belt by two extra holes.
At age 15, David started his business as a coin collector, initially buying and selling in flea markets. When his sister Martha was in her second year of law school, the booth next to his had a young boy who was giving puppies away. The boy had one puppy left and was crying because his dad said he would drown all the ones who were left at the end of the day. David didn’t know what to do, so he brought it home. Martha happened to be home, and their mom said Martha needed a dog; that was how Martha got Annie, who lived with Martha and her roommate Meg, and eventually ended up as a farm dog in Vermont with Meg.
In 1981 David opened his first shop, ‘The Gunnery/D&D coins’ in Leon Valley, Texas. He later moved into a larger shop off of Loop 410 at Evers Rd.
In 1990, David decided to close his shop due to the economic downturn. While David continued to attend gun and coin shows on the road, he sought other business ventures. He started buying rental properties, and Laundromats. H earned his real estate license and briefly worked for Century 21. After completing his college degree, David went to work for ASNA, an IT support company. Later, David went back to his love of coins and worked for the Lone Star coin shop. David worked hard all his life and was always looking for the next “good deal,” the next opportunity and the next venture.
When not working, David enjoyed a number of hobbies. In his younger years, David enjoyed water skiing, canoeing and hiking. When he moved to Canyon Lake, he collected Kayaks to play with his sons on the lake when they visited.
Also in his younger years, David enjoyed taekwondo, where he met his future wife. He started the hobby up again in the early 2000s as a shared family activity. He stopped just short of receiving his black belt due to an ACL tear and resultant surgery, but all three of his boys received their first degree black belts and Robert went on to get his second degree.
David’s preferred pastime was to sit and read; he could devour a book or two a day. David would tease that he had a head full of trivia. He could talk to anyone about anything.
David enjoyed acquiring and working on old cars. Through the years he had two different Cadillac convertibles, a Chevrolet Chevelle convertible, and a BMW convertible.
In recent years David lived in semi-retirement in his house in Canyon Lake.
Family was very important to David; he looked forward to reunions and road trips taken to visit family. He loved his sons fiercely, and was very proud of them. He reported to many that he prayed for them every night.
David will be missed by too many to name; he was leery of most people he did not know, but once he made a friend, he was very loyal. He kept in close contact with many good friends through the years; he always looked forward to visiting and catching up with them.
David is survived by his sons, Robert D., Thomas M., and Stephen C. Toedt; former wife, Rebecca Saenz Toedt; brother, D.C (Maretta) Toedt III; sisters Martha (Charles) Williams and Elizabeth Toedt (Robert Rudolph; nephews, Alexander and Mathew Williams, Richard Toedt, and Jordan Rudolph; and niece Elizabeth (Austin) Jorn. He was preceded in death by his parents Dell and Gloria Miletich Toedt.
A celebration of life is scheduled for 12/12/2020 2-4 pm at The Hills & Dales Park pavilion 7530 Shady Hollow Dr. SA, TX 78255.
In lieu of flowers, Family requests that you donate to a charity of your choice, that would honor your relationship with David.
