Timm,Sr., Raymond K., was steeped in selflessness and giving to others from his very beginning. While he probably didn’t recognize the absence of his VA-physician father, owing to WWII, during his infancy and toddling years as a sacrifice, those years typified a time of shared sacrifice and defined his remaining eight decades. He spent the closing years of the Korean War in the U.S. Army, after which he returned to graduate from Marquette University and start a family with Marcia Taylor (deceased, 1995). He was commissioned as a junior officer in the Army Reserves, worked various jobs, and took the Civil Service Exam. He began his civilian service career in the late 1960s working for the Civil Service Commission in Cleveland, Ohio. His next post was with the Defense Contracting Services Commission in Columbus, Ohio where he enforced newly enacted Civil Rights laws with defense contractors. Beginning in 1975, he took his first post with the Veterans Administration where he served until his retirement in 1995. As a VA administrator, he held positions in Fort Lyon, Colorado, Cincinnati, Ohio, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and St. Louis, Missouri. In retirement, he and his wife Virginia enjoyed volunteering at the John Cochran VA in St. Louis, as well as St. Francis Xavier (College) Church. He was a continuous advocate for the poor and displaced; working with refugees and newly-released prisoners, all in the Ignatian Jesuit charism. He was a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus and supported the Red Cloud Indian School in South Dakota.
He was preceded in death by his wife Marcia of 34 years and is survived by his wife Virginia (Kratovil Mealy) Timm of 19 years, his sister-in-law Jane Hahn and her husband Bill; his cousins Sr. Mary Ellen Lewis, FSM, Gene Tichacek, Carol Tichacek, Julie Dolnick, Audrey McDonnell and June White; his son Michael (Barbara), daughter Patricia Wilson (Steve), daughter Mary Lawrence (Deron), son Raymond II (Laura Rattner), son Paul (Judy Brown), son John (Ellen) and daughter Theresa Cordner (Eric Heimann); grandchildren CPT. Marie Timm, US Army, Claire Harrison, John Michael Timm, Breanne Timm, Mark Timm, Taylor Wilson, Sophia Lawrence, Gabriel Wilson, Emily Timm, Deron Teilhard Lawrence, Ava Cordner, Christopher Timm, Maddie Timm, Sarah Timm, J.P. Timm and Bailey Anne Timm.
He insisted that we applaud the exceptional care that he received as a patient while at the V.A. from Drs. Andrea Loiselle and Oscar Cepeda and their teams. When asked about any remaining “bucket list” items he cited only planting his tomatoes and shared that he was ready for whatever God had planned for his remaining days. He was welcomed into eternal life by our Heavenly Father on July 7, 2016. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Red Cloud Indian School, 100 Mission Dr, Pine Ridge, SD 57770, (605) 867-5888 – www.redcloudschool.org or St. Francis Xavier (College) Church – Social Outreach, 3628 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108 * (314) 977-7300 – www.slu.edu/college-church.
Services: Visitation at St. Francis Xavier College Church on Tuesday, July 12 from 10:30 am until 12:30 pm when the funeral mass will be celebrated. Interment with honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. A Kutis South County Chapel Service.