Tim Stoddart, financial adviser, chef and adventurer, dies at 68

Tim Stoddart, a financial adviser known for his adventurous spirit and big heart, died Nov. 6 at his home in Mahtomedi at age 68.

He had battled bladder cancer for more than a year.

Stoddart was a spiritual man, a thinker and listener who loved to laugh, said friends and family. He also engendered a sense of adventure in his two oldest children, and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to his youngest son, who has autism.

Stoddart, who was in Reserve Officer Training Corps while a student at the University of St. Thomas, was commissioned an officer in the Navy and served on riverboat patrols in Vietnam. His family said he witnessed enough to "galvanize his abhorrence of war."

Stoddart earned a master's degree in social work after he left the Navy.

A house-painting business he had with his brother while in graduate school led him to a customer who suggested he try the brokerage business.

He began his 40-year career with Piper Jaffray and concluded it with Merrill Lynch. His family said he enjoyed serving the needs of clients, many of whom grew to be close friends.

In 1986, Stoddart's sailing adventures continued when he and three others sailed a 41-foot sailboat across the North Atlantic though treacherous storms, said Stoddart's brother, Peter Stoddart.

"It was an adventure of a lifetime for him, traveling across a large part of the world by water," Peter said. "I don't recall a time in his life when more than six months would pass when he wasn't looking for his next great feat."

Stoddart also was a runner, canoeist, hiker and yoga enthusiast. He was an ice climber and ice boater. And he ran dog sleds many times in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

He completed six American Birkebeiners, multiple triathlons and ran 20-plus marathons, including Twin Cities, Boston and New York.

He once rode his bicycle to Duluth from the Twin Cities on a Friday, then ran Grandma's Marathon the next day.

Bob Mackie, a longtime friend, recalled that he met Stoddart through a bicycling group and the relationship progressed to include gourmet dinners Stoddart cooked for friends at his home. He also organized monthly church community dinners for 80-plus people who wanted or needed a meal.

"He was constantly cooking for people," Mackie said. "Tim was the type of person … that if you met him on the ground floor of an elevator, he would know a lot about you by the eighth floor."

In addition to his brother Peter, Stoddart is survived by his wife, Melissa; a daughter, Alice; two sons, Benjamin and Ian; a grandson; his mother, Shirley Hill; two other brothers, John and Paul, and a sister, Mary Gruber.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Dec. 2 at White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church.

Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144