An Open Letter from Jim Gallagher, Tim's Father
A few years before his death, Tim and I went on a fly in fishing trip up in Canada. One evening, we were fishing in a bay and hadn't noticed the storm clouds blowing in over the main body of the lake. When the winds kicked up, and with the rain pelting us, we started to head back. Once out of the bay, there were 4-6 foot waves with winds gusting to 45 mph. The trip out to the bay took about 30 minutes in good weather. It took us 2 hours to get back to the dock in the storm. Our gear was thrown all over the boat. It was a "white knuckle" ride all the way. We tied off the lines, climbed on the dock and sat down to rest for a bit in the pouring rain.
After a couple of minutes of sitting there and not saying a word to each other, Tim stood up, looked at me and said "Man, that was f*#%ing intense, ...but kinda sweet though." To me, that sums up Tim's life. He always seemed to find some good out of the bad, some hope when others despaired, some light when others saw darkness.
I'm not going to write the standard biography you often see on sites like this. I'm not going to write about what a great natural athlete he was, because he wasn't. He had to work hard for the athletic accomplishments he achieved. What he did take from athletics, in addition to the teamwork, camaraderie and friendships, was learn how to accept losses without being defeated.
I'm not going to write about what a great scholar he was, because once again, he wasn't. Hard work and perseverance eventually paid off in that area. What I will write about is what a great son, brother, neighbor and friend Tim was. For quite a few of the people reading this, you are the people Tim chose to spend his life with. The majority of you know the kind of guy Tim was. You know that Tim wanted to help people in some manner, whether it was by becoming a firefighter, journalist or a cop.
For those of you who didn't know him, who was Tim? Who he was, was the guy who wrestled with what path in life to choose, but ultimately he just wanted to help people.
The guy who knew he was never going to cure cancer or bring about world peace but he knew he could help in some way.
The guy who convinced you to buy a filter for your faucet instead of buying bottled water because there were too many plastic bottles going into our landfills.
The guy who sent you the You Tube video that you initially found irrelevant or incredibly stupid, but after watching it a few times, you could see the point it was trying to make or how funny it actually was.
The guy who told such an astonishingly bad joke, you couldn't help but laugh.
The guy you called or texted when you broke up with your girlfriend.
The guy you went to see after a lousy day at school or work.
The guy you went to when you needed to be picked up.
The guy who made people feel better about themselves.
Hopefully the people we assist now can in return, help someone else out down the road. Wouldn't it be amazing to perpetuate the random acts of kindness so many of you have already performed in Tim's name?
What would Tim think about all of this? I think he would crack a joke, something along the lines of, "Why didn't people give me this money when I was around"? Then he'd add: "but seriously. The fact of the matter is that some people are having a hard time paying for college or can't afford it at all sucks. That we have a chance to help them out is “kinda sweet though".
Special thanks to Chris Cheney, Tim's best friend for the final 14 years of his life and to the entire Cheney family for all of the support they've supplied, not only for the scholarship fund, but to Tim's family as well.
-- Jim Gallagher, Tim’s Father
After a couple of minutes of sitting there and not saying a word to each other, Tim stood up, looked at me and said "Man, that was f*#%ing intense, ...but kinda sweet though." To me, that sums up Tim's life. He always seemed to find some good out of the bad, some hope when others despaired, some light when others saw darkness.
I'm not going to write the standard biography you often see on sites like this. I'm not going to write about what a great natural athlete he was, because he wasn't. He had to work hard for the athletic accomplishments he achieved. What he did take from athletics, in addition to the teamwork, camaraderie and friendships, was learn how to accept losses without being defeated.
I'm not going to write about what a great scholar he was, because once again, he wasn't. Hard work and perseverance eventually paid off in that area. What I will write about is what a great son, brother, neighbor and friend Tim was. For quite a few of the people reading this, you are the people Tim chose to spend his life with. The majority of you know the kind of guy Tim was. You know that Tim wanted to help people in some manner, whether it was by becoming a firefighter, journalist or a cop.
For those of you who didn't know him, who was Tim? Who he was, was the guy who wrestled with what path in life to choose, but ultimately he just wanted to help people.
The guy who knew he was never going to cure cancer or bring about world peace but he knew he could help in some way.
The guy who convinced you to buy a filter for your faucet instead of buying bottled water because there were too many plastic bottles going into our landfills.
The guy who sent you the You Tube video that you initially found irrelevant or incredibly stupid, but after watching it a few times, you could see the point it was trying to make or how funny it actually was.
The guy who told such an astonishingly bad joke, you couldn't help but laugh.
The guy you called or texted when you broke up with your girlfriend.
The guy you went to see after a lousy day at school or work.
The guy you went to when you needed to be picked up.
The guy who made people feel better about themselves.
Hopefully the people we assist now can in return, help someone else out down the road. Wouldn't it be amazing to perpetuate the random acts of kindness so many of you have already performed in Tim's name?
What would Tim think about all of this? I think he would crack a joke, something along the lines of, "Why didn't people give me this money when I was around"? Then he'd add: "but seriously. The fact of the matter is that some people are having a hard time paying for college or can't afford it at all sucks. That we have a chance to help them out is “kinda sweet though".
Special thanks to Chris Cheney, Tim's best friend for the final 14 years of his life and to the entire Cheney family for all of the support they've supplied, not only for the scholarship fund, but to Tim's family as well.
-- Jim Gallagher, Tim’s Father
