The Yuhasz family are heartbroken to announce the passing of our incredible father, Todd Yuhasz. Our dad passed away suddenly in February, one week after his 62nd birthday. Todd Yuhasz was deeply loved by this community, and he loved it back. Our dad was the epitome of “work hard but play harder.” He was a jack of all trades. He bartended at The Chase every Friday and Saturday night for over 30 years. He also started Garden Street Furniture in our childhood backyard, later moving to a workshop in the Funk Zone. Most notably, he ran Toddy’s Christmas Trees at the Santa Barbara Bowl, where he loved and cherished being a part of so many families’ holiday traditions.
Todd Yuhasz was a marvel. Our father grew up in a small town in eastern Ontario called Brantford. He was raised by a single father who had migrated to Canada from Budapest, Hungary, right before the Revolution. Our dad told us stories of his childhood that would paint pictures only good enough for Hollywood movies. From having to buy his teacher cigarettes, hopping a fence to see Evel Kneivel, almost burning a house down, to getting stuck on a bridge with an oncoming train á la Stand by Me. We would go on road trips and our dad would tell stories the entire time. Todd’s biggest adventure came when he first moved to Santa Barbara. At age 18, he dropped out of his Catholic high school and hitch hiked across Canada, headed west. With no money to his name our dad hopped trains, thumbed rides, camped, sat in the back of trucks, and sang Neil Young songs all the way here.
After a few odd jobs and purchasing an always broken down 1964 Ford Falcon, he met a waitress at Moby Dick who would change everything. Our dad said he used to go in and hand our mom the bill to pay and his hands would be shaking because he thought “she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.” After years of admiring one another from a distance, Carole and Todd moved into an old Victorian house on Garden Street. A few years later they would bring home two children, Dillon Todd Yuhasz and Haley Lee Yuhasz. Todd and Carole were an unbreakable partnership. Through thick and thin, they never ever gave up on each other. Todd and Carole would be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this coming Valentine’s Day.
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