TIMOTHY QUAIL (Tim Tim)

It is with profound sadness that we, his family, announce the sudden passing of Tim Quail – Husband, Dad, and Grandpa Tim (“Tim Tim”) – on January 7th.

 

Timothy Quail was born in Edmonton, on April 25th, 1953, to parents, Dick (school principal) and Marg (war bride, teacher, stay at home mom).  Tim and his siblings (older brother Pat and younger twins Sue and Liz) grew up playing sports in the winter and spending summers at the lake.  Tim was a competitive swimmer with a wicked front crawl, but his sister recalls a race at Waskesiu Lake when Tim, having sized up potential prizes before the competition began, threw the race at the last minute so that he would be awarded second prize, a bucket of KFC.  Tim loved a good meal and was a great cook.  His barbequed burgers and “pachitos” (parmesan potatoes) were second-to-none, his turkey dinners were like no other, and his lemon cream pie was simply mouth-watering.

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Tim was a skilled hockey player, but being part of a team and enjoying the game trumped all.  His dad used to send him to the rink hungry, hoping that it would make him edgy and more competitive.  Tim had the opportunity to play AAA hockey in high school but instead opted to play up on a recreational team with his older brother.  At the Gull Lake rink, he was known as “Tweet Tweet”, and many laughs were shared with “Dirty 30s” teammates. Tim passed on his love of skating and sport to many children and teens in the town of Gull Lake, as power skating coach at the old rink and later as hockey and ringette coach.  He could “shoot the duck” from one end of the rink to the other, and players remember him as a coach who gave everyone equal ice time and made them feel like valued and important members of the team.  In addition to coaching hockey and ringette, Tim was eager to help with David’s baseball teams.  He readily admitted that initially, he didn’t know much about the game, but Tim was smart and athletic, and he loved being involved with all his kids’ activities. 

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In the 1980s, Tim was President of the Athletic Association, and for several years he served on the Property Committee at Knox United Church.  During this time, he was instrumental in planning the new addition that was added after the boiler explosion in the late 80s.  In the 90s, Tim was a member of the Saskatchewan Housing Authority.  Tim was respected and well-liked in his community.  He always had a smile and a friendly hello, and he never said an unkind word about anyone.

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As a child, Tim and his family spent summers in Prince Albert National Park, and this is undoubtedly where he gained his love of nature.  Many memories were made at Waskesiu, and  Erin and David  loved hearing stories about those summers.  Tales about barefoot waterskiing were especially entertaining, and they mostly figured he was exaggerating until they saw their dad slalom ski in the early 90s, his ear grazing the water as he made a cut.  Tim was their hero!  His grandkids loved listening to him caw like a crow and howl at the wolves, and Waskesiu and the Cypress Hills have become favorite spots of William, Hayley, Lucy, and Sam (Erin and David’s kids).

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Tim loved the lake and the trees.  It was at Waskesiu where he met the love of his life, Nancy Gin.  Nancy, a university student, was working at the Waskesiu RCMP depot as a steno and dispatcher.  Tim was a good-looking and popular lifeguard and, as Nancy puts it, the “best-looking guy in the park”.  They started dating that summer and were so well-suited that by September, they were happily engaged.

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Tim was truly a jack-of-all-trades.  He could fix anything and was a self-taught carpenter, building their home in Gull Lake, erecting the garage-of-all-garages, jokingly nicknamed the “Garaj Mahal”, and more recently helping build the family cabin, “King’s Cottage” in the Cypress Hills.  Tim was a patient teacher, and he and father-in-law King Gin, showed Nancy how to wire, insulate, lay vinyl flooring, hang doors, pour cement, etc.  What a threesome!  Tim lovingly called Nancy “Heidi” (as in Tim the Tool Man Taylor from Home Improvement), and he and Nancy were the perfect team, working together to maintain their lovely home and garden.  Tim always had a master plan, carefully designing stone pathways and retaining walls (to make for easy mowing) and planting trees just so – so that twenty years down the road they would create a perfect umbrella effect.

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Tim enjoyed the simple things in life – bird watching in his Explorer (he called it his office), going for car rides, Face Timing with grandkids, watching the Oilers, sitting on the deck or in his easy chair with his dog, and spending time with family.  He never needed a fancy car in the driveway or a trip to Europe, and he was most comfortable in his Levi’s, always joking that jeans and a ballcap never go out of style.  Family was everything to Tim, and his happiest moments were when he was surrounded by loved ones – Nancy, his kids and grandkids, his father-in-law, his sister Sue (Morris) and their family, his sisters and brothers-in-law, Debbie (Dale), Steven (Don), Susan (Frank), his numerous and beloved nieces, nephews and their families, and old friends (Floyd Collier and Ken Wright, among others).

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Tim never liked a fuss and years ago, when his kids talked about planning a 25th wedding celebration, he said, “If you throw us a party, I am skipping town with or without your mother”.  His family will honor this quiet, simple, informal side of Tim, by holding a small family gathering in Cypress.  The family will gather again, in Waskesiu, to scatter Tim’s ashes.

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Sincere thanks to everyone, friends, and family, who have sent caring thoughts, love, support and condolences via e-mail, text, cards, food, etc.  It is greatly appreciated.  Nancy wants to acknowledge and thank their doctor, Dr. Clare Kozroski, for the care and compassion that she has shown over the years.  Lastly, sincere thanks to daughter-in-law (David’s wife), Wendy Sligl, also a doctor, who was with Tim and family during his short time in hospital.  She made sure that Tim was comfortable, and her presence, care, and expertise were appreciated more than she will ever know.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada or the Waskesiu Foundation.