Remembering Tod

Tod Bush came into this world right behind his twin brother Ted on November 1, 1966 in Tyler, Texas and was born to Lee and Susan Bush. Family was the centerpiece in Tod’s life. Tod would say that the most important thing about the family he was born into and the family he later created with Robyn was that they were committed Christ followers.

Tod loved sports. He was an avid fan and participant in all things athletic. From the start, Tod was a competitor and began to demonstrate a passionate will, quick thinking and argumentative/negotiating skills as he participated in a variety of sports. These characteristics, that he began to develop in the athletic arena, served him well later in his life.

Tod graduated from Athens High School with honors and went onto Baylor University where he received a BBA in Business and then his Doctorate in Law.

Tod's family has a rich legacy of faith in Christ going back several generations. Lee and Susan’s greatest desire for their boys, and later their two daughters, Yulia & Yana, was for them to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Their home was centered on Jesus, on bringing the light and healing of Christ to children and youth throughout the world, and on the ministries of First Baptist Church of Athens. It was during his high school years that Tod began to be a part of a ministry called Young Life. He often commented that what made the biggest impact for Christ in his life was how intentional his Young Life leaders had been in pursuing and building relationship with him. In the summer of 1982, Tod went to Frontier Ranch, and it was there that God revealed himself to Tod in a very personal way. From that point on, Tod’s faith in Christ became real and the driving force in his life.

Because of the influence of Young Life in his own spiritual journey, Tod was passionately tied in to this ministry for the remainder of his life. He served Young Life as a college Young Life leader & summer staffer at Frontier Ranch for three years, as a volunteer leader for 8 years at J.J. Pearce High School, and then stepped into building the first Richardson area Young Life committee and co-leading that committee with his wife, Robyn, for 5 years. In the last 3 years Tod & Robyn helped to get Young Life planted at the Covenant School Dallas where both their older children have attended.

It was during his time at Baylor where he met and began to date Robyn Saulsberry. Their courtship lasted for 4 years and then they stepped into marriage together in December of 1990, and their marriage was in everyway a committed love story. Shortly after their marriage they went on their first mission trip together to the then Soviet Union and that birthed in their hearts a great passion for sharing the gospel around the world, one that would manifest throughout their lives together in the coming years.

Tod and Robyn have been blessed with three beautiful children; Tyler Davis Bush, 23, Lindsey Elizabeth Bush, 19, and Kati Yuliana Bush, 11. His children were his absolute delight and he loved being a father. He was intimately involved in their daily lives. At times, this involvement was manifested by him spending countless seasons coaching them in sports. He began with Tyler’s baseball and basketball teams and then moved on to learning the sport of volleyball so he could help Lindsey participate in her chosen sport. He loved being involved and watching them learn and excel. It became clear that when it came to bringing home their third child, Kati, from Guatemala, Tod’s legal expertise and attention to detail would play a crucial role. He worked tireless to first fight for her right to be adopted and then to start the long and arduous process of an international adoption that took 1 ½ years to accomplish. In order to complete Kati’s adoption, the Bush family was required to live in Guatemala for an additional 6 months with Kati while waiting to bring her home to Texas. Tod and Robyn commuted between Dallas and Guatemala and Tod stepped into keeping things as normal as possible for his older children who remained in the US during this time. It was one of his passions to help his children to understand their identity in Christ and to find and prepare for their individual life callings.

Tod and Robyn have been members of several wonderful churches over the course of their marriage. For the past 10 years they have been covenant members at the Village Church. They have led a home group in their home every Sunday evening for 8 years and it was one of their greatest honors to love and lead their group not only in Bible study, but in figuring out together how to authentically love and serve Christ in their daily lives.

Tod graduated from Baylor Law School in 1992 and was offered a job at the Dallas District Attorney’s office where he excelled at being a prosecutor for Dallas County. During his 13 years there, the majority of his career was focused on serving in the Child Abuse Division, which seeks justice for the child and works to provide the best possible outcome for children and their families. It was difficult work, but a role, which Tod felt passionately about and excelled at because of his diligence to do right by all involved.

In 2007, Tod was asked by his family to come and work in the family business, Red Dot Buildings, in order to head up a new vision which they named “100X.” This new venture was based upon the parable that Jesus taught about multiplying 100 times the gifts and talents God gives people and organizations. It was the vision of the Bush family to use the gifting of employees and profits to make a difference in the world around them on behalf of Christ. Tod accepted this task with excitement and began an amazing journey of figuring out how to multiply the “talents” given to Red Dot to alleviate some of the oppression in our world. His work with 100X program was focused on both domestic and international work. Tod’s focus for the domestic aspect of 100X included leading employee Bible studies; marriage and family conferences; and planning and serving the local community as a Red Dot company. The international work was carried out in South America, Central America, Asia, and Africa where teams of employees ministered to children living in orphanages and slums; improving their living environments and building beautiful playgrounds; celebrating children’s lives with Bible camps and big carnivals. Tod was driven to fight against the oppression of the poor and marginalized and this was a wonderful avenue given to him with which he could actively fight against it, pressing against the darkness with the light of Christ. He loved serving Red Dot in this capacity.

Tod was always passionate about equipping Robyn to do the work that God has called her to in her life. In their life partnership, Tod encouraged Robyn to dream and then applied his gifting to helping make the details happen. This was never more evident than when Robyn, in the midst of crisis, saw an opportunity in Honduras (where the 100X Project was funding a transitional home for girls) – to pursue and build relationship with young women who needed education and opportunity in order to transform the course of theirs lives. This outreach has become known as A Sister’s Heart.

Tod lived a full life in a span of 50 years. Tod loved God, his family, his friends, his church, the Baylor Bears, and the Dallas Mavericks, but he would say that the driving force in his life has been to know Christ and make Him known.

Tod is survived by: his wife, Robyn Bush; children Tyler, Lindsey and Kati Bush; parents Lee and Susan Bush; siblings Ted and his wife Melissa, Yulia and her husband Richard, Yana and her husband Rusty, nieces and nephews Mackenzie, Noah, Wyatt, Naomi and Lizzy; and a host of extended family with whom he was close.

A memorial service was held Friday, December 30, 2016 at 11 am at The Village Church in Plano, Texas (5333 Independence Pkwy, Plano, Texas).

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers that gifts be made to A Sister’s Heart (www.ASistersHeart.com) or Tod Bush Leadership Center (www.younglife.org) under Give Online use Area Number: 1127. Your receipt will list the

recipient as Director of Ministry Strategy.

Start Your Relationship

With Christ

If you have not yet begun a personal relationship with Christ, there is nothing that would please Tod more than for you to begin your exploration right now. Here is a great resource to get you started:

© 2016-2018 Robyn E. Bush  All Rights Reserved

Consider Giving the

Gift of Life

Tod decided several years before his death that he wanted to offer the gift of life by becoming an organ donor. Please consider doing the same.