Timber Dick passed away on April 10, 2008
Timber Dick has been in my prayers ever since I heard of his terrible car accident two weeks ago.
His family befriended a dear friend of mine when she first moved to the United States and she considers them to be her parents. Indeed, they have folded her into their family as if she were one of their own. I have met his wife, Annette Lantos Tillman-Dick, several times — what a sweet and gracious and generous and intelligent woman she is! They are members of my church, although they go to a different ward than I do.
I was searching the Internet this morning to find out how he was doing and stumbled across a single post stating that he had passed away 15 minutes earlier. It must have been someone very close to the family reporting on it. So I called my friend to offer my condolences and she confirmed that he had, indeed, died last night. We cried together on the phone.
But he was so badly injured with burns over 60% of his body and the other types of injuries sustained when your car rolls 240 feet down the side of a mountain. He was in a medically-induced coma so help give his body time to heal. He has been entirely in God’s hands throughout the last few weeks and it was so sweet of our Father in Heaven to allow everyone time to say good-bye, and to have him pass in the arms of love instead of in the flames of that accident.
The doctors knew from the first few days that his lungs had been burned and that it was a lethal injury, but it didn’t stop them from trying everything to save him.
At a news conference today, Annette, his wife, said she was grateful for the time she was able to spend with her husband.
“We spent a lifetime of joy and productivity together,” she said today at a news conference. “I really don’t believe in death; I believe in life. I’m looking forward to a new kind of relationship with him.”
No one can ever be prepared to lose such a brave and noble and kind and generous man. He had been a bishop and a loving father and was so young, just a year older than I.
My prayers now continue with his adoring family, that they will be sustained at this time and that they will find comfort. His wife, Annette, just lost her father a few months ago. As brave and as full of faith and hope as they all are, this is still so hard to bear.
Latter-day Saints believe in life after death and that our families will be together throughout the eternities. As an organist, I have played for many funerals over the last 30 years and have attended many more. There is a different sense of peace and hope at a Mormon funeral than there is at any other, as you can see from Annette’s comments.
The things that go on in your own life pale when compared to a family’s loss of a husband and father. I’m so grateful to have been encouraged and strengthened by the Dick family, even throughout this season of praying for them, and just continue to seek God’s kindest mercies upon them.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 610 Coors St., in Lakewood.
View CBS4 Denver news story with brief comments by Annette
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/11/timber-dick-former-city-council-candidate-dies/
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=89753
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15856389/detail.html
Filed under: prayer | Tagged: death, lds, mormon, prayer, religion, timber dick
My good friend grew up with Timber Dick and has also expressed the same feelings about this wonderful man and this incredible family.
This entire city will miss him, and we shall always remember him.
Thank you for the wonderful comments about Timber Dick. Though my association with Timber was short, I enjoyed him very much. Yes, what a caring, kind and very intelligent person he was. bjb
I just heard about Timber Dick. His dad (decesaed) was my cousin. Timber’s grandfather HOWARD DICK was my Dad’s brother. Can you please send me an email for Timber’s wife. I feel so terribly said about his sudden death.
Dr. John A. Dick
Leuven
BELGIUM
I met Timber, Annette, and several of their children at one of our Yale class reunions. I did not know him as an undergrad, but we got to talking at the reunion and they were a very friendly and nice. I was very impressed by their children. They were homeschooled, and it really changed the way I look at homeschooling. I as sorry for the loss, my thoughts and prayers go out to Annette, his kids, and the family.