As a little girl, I had a fairy tail child hood I have spoke about it time and time again. During that time I was fortunate enough to have an extremely close extended family, we vacationed and camped together, we were together nearly every weekend, and we made amazing memories. The bond that existed between My dad and his family was amazing and it truly taught me how to love at a different level. My dad is best friends with his two brothers and was the middle of them making us very close to both. The family was raised with a love for nature and especially fishing. Many of our family outings were going to Ludington were we would camp and the brothers would fish all morning then come back at lunch and we would swim, have camp fires and play as a family. We had many laughs and most were lead by my Uncle Tim. He was the entertainer of the family, he even chose a profession that fit in with this personality, he very often lead the family in jokes. I have so many memories of my Uncle playing jokes on people or video taping interviews with his kids, nieces and nephews. He had the first video camera and loved using it. I also had the privilege to be able to have Uncle Tim as a high school teacher. Many of you may know him as the amazing talented Band Director for Holt Tim Parry. Last night as word came in that my Uncle Tim was not doing well after a long battle with his Kidneys, and the fact he had contracted a Bacteria which was killing him by infecting his whole body my thoughts turned to all the amazing times I was fortunate to share with him. On January 5th my parents had once again traveled with Tim and Ann for three weeks to Florida to escape the cold of Michigan and so Tim and Dad could do some fishing. Little did anyone know that this is where Tim would be in for the fight of his life after just a few days of vacation. Any way back to last night I laid in my bed all night not sleeping but thinking and praying for my Uncle. As my mind would start to pray I would immediately go to a favorite memory of mine and they were all having to do with Uncle Tim.
This morning I reached out to mom to see if there had been any changes and she had heard nothing yet. After 30 minutes I received the heart breaking news that my beloved Uncle had lost his fight. His Wife, and children Leanne and Michael were with him as well as my dad. There are no words for the sorrow and grief everyone has in the family currently. But again I thought if only the world knew what an enormous loss this was. I guarantee if you Knew Tim you had a hilarious story involving him. My girls have known how sick Uncle Tim has been for a week and cried all last night and this morning before school because of the fear of losing such a pivotal part of our family they were drawn to tears. They were also close to Tim as he lived just down the streets from Grandma and Grandpa and they were able to visit him a lot. As I was trying to comfort the girls I started to tell funny stories to them “Do you remember the story when Uncle Tim” and I told story after story and Had a hundred more I could have shared.
I thought maybe that was the best way to share his life with you all. Parry’s do you remember being in Ludington at Lamens Landing and invading the swimming pool? My dad and Uncles were doing tricks off the diving board and we were all roaring with laughter, when Uncle Tim decided he was going to dive through his daughter Leanne’s little floating inter-tube. No one thought this was possible, he went up in a grand dive and a huge wave swept the pool pushing us back. He had taken on the tube and did make it almost all the way through., when he emerged from the water the tube was around his waist still and he had popped it. We all laughed so hard except for Leanne who was devastated her dad had broke her ring and stood crying. Or Do you remember the story of poor smokey the cat? Or the story of planting hot dogs under tents? Most recently while at my Uncle Tim’s for the MSU’s big win in the Cotton Bowl game did you hear the CVS message? Or if you were in Band do you remember the story of the “family that plays together stays together”? Wow there are so many more hilarious and fun stories. If you have a story and would love to leave a comment we encourage you to do so, or if you heard one of the stories listed or had the privileged of being part of it you also are dealing with a large loss. I am privileged to have this amazing man in my life for all that was taught and all the times he made me smile and laugh. I was loved by a great man and will never forget hearing him play his trumpet and dancing all night when he was playing with J&J sounds, or singing out on his boat to the band Chicago or Build me up Buttercup or Rawhide. I wish I could have hugged you Uncle Tim and told you all you meant to me and how lucky I am to have had you in my life. A great void will forever be in our family, but we all know you are in a better place.
A memorial service is being held February 8th at 1:00pm. It will take place at Eagle Eye Golf Course located at 15500 Chandler Rd. Bath MI 48808.
Also an Alumni band is getting together, if you would like more information email me at Terafarhat@hotmail.com or go to: http://www.facebook.com/events/802415073140469/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular
elijahfarhat 