Tribute to My Step-father -- Otto Timms, Calhoun, GA

Today, my blog post is not about GBG; it is not about my Christian Homebased business. Today my post is a special post to pay honor to Otto Timms, my stepfather--a very unique person. Calhoun, Georgia lost a legend as his silver cord was finally loosed.

 Ecclesiastes 12:6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. 

It's all over now--no more crying, no more tears, no more pain, no more worry--no more holding on for Otto. One by one they came--starting at 5:00 and ending at 9:00 yesterday, as over 1000 friends and relatives, some waiting in line as long as two hours,  paying tribute and final respects to a man who had become a legend to those who knew him best--racing fans. This year marked the 50th anniversary of his beloved Paradise Drag Strip. Otto had passed away on a race day, to the sound of racing cars in the background and surrounded by his loving family. Never a man to give up, he endured and persevered to the end until that final goodbye--hoping for his miracle and for someone to find out what was wrong with him. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, a very cruel disease which not only effects the individual but also every person who loves them.

There is a scribbled written note my mother found written last year on a Christmas card which says it all - "I'm locked inside a box and can't get out. Will pay when I get it."  Nobody ever found Otto's secret key; but still, always, in Otto fashion, he continued to believe until that final goodbye.




As Otto's body was viewed, my mother stood devotedly beside the casket for the entire duration and never sat down or even left the room to take a break--the same devotion she had to her husband of over 45 years, my step-father (the man who was always there) -- Otto Timms. Otto was a one-of-a-kind man known mostly by me for his work ethic and his art for risk taking and "just believing."

Today, a gathering of friends and relatives participated in the final ritual, a funeral held at the church across the street from the Drag Strip,  before giving a one last ride down the drag strip in the hearse.



Calhoun Times
Yellowbullet.com Link
Alzheimer's Article - Memory Walk