Tehachapi News

Fallen man followed his best friend to Tehachapi and beyond

Todd Sterling Ivens, 33, of Tehachapi, was one of three men killed in the tragic explosion that shook the Mojave Air & Space Port and Burt Rutan’s extended family at Scaled Composites, on July 26.

Ivens, a certified aeronautical mechanic, was working on the engine for SpaceShipTwo with his best friend, Eric Blackwell, 38, of Randsburg, and co-worker Charles May, 45, of Mojave, when both were killed instantly in the blast.
Iven’s aunt, Charlotte McNeil, of Oregon, said the family fully expected him to recover from the accident, in spite of his traumatic injuries, including the loss of a leg. Sadly, Ivens expired several hours after he was flown to Kern Medical Center for treatment.

“We just knew there would be no keeping him down. He would have been running eventually,” she said, adding that the shock was compounded by the fact that Ivens had managed to heroically bounce back from a near death accident approximately ten years ago. “He never stoped living. He would have bounced back, but it would have been hard on him to lose his best friend. It might have been easier on him to lose a leg.”

According to McNeil, Ivens followed his close friend, Eric Blackwell, to the Tehachapi area and their shared place of employment after the two became friends while working as airplane mechanics in Alaska.

“He was a full contact engine kind of person,” said McNeil adding that he was especially excited about working on spacecraft. “He was a problem solver and he was always fixing things and tearing them apart to see how they worked.”
McNeil said her nephew’s ultimate ambition was to continue to hone his mechanical skills and eventually return home to the Portland area.

“We are a tight knit family and we all live within a three mile radius,” said McNeil. “When one of us is having difficult moments the other is there. It’s like we’re cycling through, not at the same time. Somehow our systems are in sync so we can be there for each other.”

Ivens expressed his desire to find a “life-mate” and eventually return to his roots, on his classmates.com Web page, where he described himself as “single and hating it.”

“Eventually once I get more experience on newer technologies in the aerospace world I will look to move again, probably back to the Pacific Northwest. But the shop that I work for has just too many exciting programs coming up in the next few years so it may be awhile till I do move from here,” wrote Ivens early this year.

At 6-foot, 3 inches and roughly 240 pounds, McNeil describes her nephew as a “Big Teddy Bear,” who was rarely photographed alone, since he attracted kids and family members to him like a magnet.

“He was an outdoor, hard-playing guy,” said McNeil. “He really was bigger than life. His heart was so huge.”

Having been actively involved in Search and Rescue back in Oregon and Alaska, Ivens had enjoyed living in the rural Sand Canyon area of Tehachapi, since last Christmas. With his two much-loved dogs, “Wrecks” and “Roxy” for loyal companionship, Ivens continued to attract new friends with his knack for storytelling and a wry sense of humor.

Now, McNeil said she can find comfort in the memories of her nephew's many humorous stories and she is especially thankful that just days before his death, Todd — and his dogs — were able to join approximately 40 family members in Portland for their annual reunion.

“I have his voice in my head literally — because we just had that connection,” she said. “I think it would have been so much harder to come to grips without all that still rattling in my head.”