William Todd Salen died at age 68 on Monday, July 20, in Paxton IL after an eleven year campaign against cancer defying all odds, winning many battles but in the end peacefully surrendering to a war well fought.
Todd, as he was known, lived his life with an unwavering conviction for serving others. He touched thousands of lives in Central Illinois, especially those of young people, through his enormous body of volunteer work in civic, religious, arts and government organizations.
Born in Buffalo, NY, Todd was raised in Park Forest IL. He graduated from Rich South High School in 1975 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Advertising in 1979 at the University of Illinois. His early career was spent working for companies such as Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo. Eventually, Todd found a long career in real estate development and sales, and he worked at many Champaign-Urbana firms until his final days, often closing deals from his hospital bed.
Todd was an avid music fan, especially rock music of the late 70s and early 80s, and translated that fandom into action and activism. While still in college, he organized two concerts for Harry Chapin in 1978 and 1979 to fight global hunger. Todd worked his magic under the PepsiCo tent at Champaign’s famous 1985 Farm Aid concert, convincing some of his favorite artists to carry Pepsi cups onto the stage — which may or may not have contained Pepsi. His nephew Arlo is now the proud owner of a hat with signatures from the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Willie Nelson that Todd somehow finagled. Even during his illness, Todd volunteered at State Farm Center in Champaign to hear his favorite acts.
His love of music extended to the stage, and Todd produced over 20 musicals for audiences in Central Illinois. While serving on the board of the Champaign Urbana Theater Company from 2008 to 2010, Todd helped produce memorable stagings including Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and West Side Story. With the Champaign Park District, Todd encouraged young people to take the stage in productions of Music Man Jr., Seussical, Camp Rock, Aladdin, and Willy Wonka Jr. During his cancer battle, Todd would frequently visit his sister Kristina in NYC, and they saw over a dozen Broadway productions, including the original cast of Hamilton. Todd’s favorite musical is Phantom of the Opera, which he claimed to have seen over 30 times but never produced.
But Todd’s greatest passion was his commitment to community service. His generosity of spirit is what he is most noted for, and living a life of service while encouraging others to do the same was a core tenet of his life’s philosophy.
His work with the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity spanned four decades. He founded the Michigan Alpha Chapter in 1984, and was a Chapter Adviser from 1992 until his death — a role which earned him the honor of the Outstanding Chapter Adviser in 2008. In the broader University of Illinois Greek community, Todd served as Chairman of the Board of Fraternity Affairs from 2007 until his death, earning the university’s prestigious Fred H. Turner Award in 2007 for his outstanding service.
Todd officiated over 4000 basketball games with such fairness and clarity that he was invited to referee the Illinois Girls’ AA State Finals in 2002, 2003, and 2005.
He was active in the Staff Parish Relations Committee at Savoy United Methodist Church, served as Treasurer in 2009-2010, and participated in youth mission trips. In 20121, he joined Faith United Methodist Church, where he served on the Neighbors Helping Neighbors leadership team, and continued to live with compassion and commitment.
A Champaign Rotary member since 2004, Todd served on the Board of Directors and as Executive Secretary from 2010 on. Named 2008 Rotarian of the Year, he also sponsored the Interact Club at Centennial High School from 2005 to 2014, which fostered a love of service among young people, encouraging them to do just what he always did — truly engage with the people and communities around him.
In that same spirit, Todd was a board member of the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival from 1995 to 2013, working in that span as Festival Director three times and Director of Operations three times. On top of all that, he cooked more than 200,000 ears of corn. Inspired by the impact volunteerism and engagement had on his life, Todd created the Make Every Day Matter Scholarship Fund, which supports undergraduate scholarships for students who are members of fraternities or sororities and demonstrate exemplary public service.
Because of his boundless, enthusiastic kindness, Todd became a go-to guy when young men needed support. If a young man needed guidance, someone called Todd. He would help them with tactical things like applying to college or studying for real estate exams, or polishing a resume, but more often, it was the intangible that Todd provided, like encouragement, validation and faith. Just showing up brought the most comfort. Todd even offered his home and family, which brought Guanheng Luo into the Salen family, forging a lifelong bond.
Todd is survived by his siblings, Gregory W. Salen, Frank R. Salen, and Kristina Marie Salen; nephews Arlo Bernstein and Jules Bernstein; nieces Heather Salen, Jennifer Thompson, and Natalie Salen; and godchildren Drew Foster and Natalie Salen. He was preceded in death by his father, Stanley E. Salen (2008); his mother, Muriel D. Salen (1970); his stepmother, Roberta Steger Salen (1988); and his brother, Steven R. Salen (2017).
People said Todd must have had the nine lives of a cat due to how often he prevailed against his disease and proved prognoses wrong. Upon being given a year to live after his first diagnosis in 2015, he survived for ten extra, as if the world knew it still needed his magnanimity and wanted to hold onto him as long as possible. No matter when he finally left us, it would have been too soon.
