Joey

Uncle Tim! From as early as I can remember, my birthdays were shared with him and I was proud of that because he was one who seemed larger than life.

I’ve never met anyone who could fix a machine the way he could. It didn’t matter if was a diesel or gas engine, or an electrical motor with gears and wires, if he had the tools in his hands, it was going to run again.

He was the best drummer I’ve ever heard. Playing for Loretta Lynn’s daughters’ band, he shared stages with some big names in country music, but to me, he was simply the guy who introduced me to Rush and the “The Spirit of The Radio”. He wasn’t simply playing a song, he was passing along the same spirit the song celebrates, which is the joy of discovering music that changes you.

He loved fast cars, airplanes, and anything that made your heart race. I’ll never forget riding in the passenger seat, passing cars on the highway over 100 mph in his IROC-Z (sorry Mom) with the T-tops off and Rush blasting through the speakers as he was drumming on the steering wheel like he was playing to a sold-out arena.

He was the biggest kid I knew. He absolutely loved everything Walt Disney. Some of my favorite memories are riding the monorail and racing from ride to ride, taking advantage of every Extra Magic Hour, making as many trips on Space Mountain or Aerosmith’s Rock’N Roller Coaster as we possibly could before the parks closed. He knew how to make every moment feel like an adventure.

He showed me what it meant to be the kind of uncle a kid never forgets. He’s the reason I want to be the coolest uncle I can be for my nieces and nephews. I hope that one day they look back on our adventures the way I look back on mine with Uncle Tim. With gratitude, laughter, and stories they’ll tell for the rest of their lives.

Thank you for the music, the speed, the laughter, the adventures, and for showing me that growing older never means growing up!