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Biography of John S. Todd Father of the “Lakewood Plan” |
John Todd’s life story is like Lakewood’s –
a story of overcoming obstacles requiring innovative ideas and persistence.
Lakewood became a city because servicemen returning from World War II needed a place to live, and they liked Southern California. For years, the nation had devoted its resources to building ships, aircraft and bombs, not houses. But during the 1950s, construction crews in Lakewood completed as many as 50 homes per day.
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Todd, a native of North Dakota, moved to Los Angeles in 1920 with
his parents and two sisters when he was six months old.
Following his father’s path to higher education, John earned a
bachelor’s degree in political science at USC, and then served his
country in World War II as an Air Force munitions specialist in
Alaska and Guam.
Todd met Frances McGuire on his way through Seattle to Alaska during
the war, and they had married in 1943. (Frances Todd worked as
John's stenographer in his law office until John Allan Todd was born
in 1953. Michael Arthur Todd was born in 1955.)
More . . .
Above: John Todd with
former Lakewood Mayor Jacqueline Rynerson in 2003. Circa 1955 photo
of John S. Todd and Lakewood's John Sanford Todd Community Center at
Mayfair Park.
