Obituary for Todd Lawrence Barnes age, 54

Todd Lawrence Barnes was welcomed into the world on November 8, 1971, by his parents, Edie (Jones) and Clayton Barnes, and by his older brother Jon, in Cambridge, Minnesota. 

The boys spent the majority of their childhood in the Hay Creek area of Lake of the Woods County. Those formative years are when Todd’s deep roots to the area and connection with nature were established. Todd also loved to travel and explore different places; in fact, he recently checked off the 50th state on his list with a couple of his closest friends and his fiancée, Heidi in 2024. However, no matter where his adventures took him, Hay Creek was always his home.

In his early twenties and thirties, Todd held several jobs, one of them was working as an over-the-road trucker. It was during these cross-country hauls that Todd discovered his remarkable memory for nearly every road he traveled. You could mention a tiny town four states away, and Todd would instantly recall the place and say “I know that place, they have a great little café on Main Street with the best waffles! I used to stop there on my way to Houston. If you’re ever there, tell Mable I said hi!” Guaranteed - if you ever did meet Mable, she would remember him too. He was a hard guy to forget. 

The ability to remember roads (and the ones much less traveled) helped him with the rest of life's adventures as well. While making forest roads, marking snowmobile trails, blowing beaver dams or clearing hunting trails, his loved ones would worry about him getting lost in the woods by himself. If he did it was only temporary, and he sure didn't tell anyone about it when he came home!

Despite his independent nature and sometimes rugged appearance, Todd was widely known as a gentle giant with a heart of gold. His strength was not just in body but in spirit. He was the one that his friends would call for help with anything from a tow out of a ditch to an escort on a blind date. 

Todd was a giver in life, as well as in death. In 2008, he donated a kidney to a buddy in dire need without hesitation. If given praise for it, he would turn red (redder than usual) and mumble something about not needing that one anyway. After he passed, he continued to help others in need through organ donation. 

On December 8, 2025, exactly two years after his father’s passing, Todd passed away surrounded by cherished friends and family. He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents, his father Clayton, two uncles, one aunt and his brother Jon (Barney). He is survived by his mother Edie, his fiancé Heidi, as well as his children, Rook and Maissie. Todd also leaves behind two granddaughters, Lillianna and Maylee. While he had no living biological siblings, nieces or nephews, he is called Brother by a fortunate few and Uncle Todd by dozens of loved ones. 
He will be missed terribly and remembered fondly by all those who had a chance to know him.