Remembering Timpa

 

Timothy Ray Ridge, my father-in-law, and my very dear friend, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, December 20th; after visiting his mother Carol through a window at her assisted living home with his wife Barbara, sister Dawn and her grandchildren, his daughter and son-in-law, and three of his seven loving and energetic grandchildren.  He passed after seeing his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes clinch the Big10 Championship after fewer games played than in any other season in history.  But knowing Tim, he had watched every minute there was to watch this year. He was certainly a fan of the Buckeyes, but an even bigger fan of his family.  He watched hours upon hours of his grandchildren’s soccer games, football games, swim meets, baseball games, track meets, cross country meets, choir concerts, band concerts, piano recitals, and holiday programs.  He genuinely enjoyed every single minute of it.  He was a true fan of his family and everyone in it.  

Tim cheered on his beloved son Sean and beautiful daughter Tanya through decades of youth sports, not as a spectator, but as a coach, and even as a soccer league administrator.  When his kids aged out of teams he could coach he transitioned to the role of FIFA certified soccer referee, a role he took a great deal of pride in, investing in the young players, he loved the game, but loved the players and what they learned from it so much more.  He was a fan of Sean as he completed his college education, earning a doctorate after several master’s degrees, and eventually becoming a Dean and professor at Johnson University.  This was a point of great pride for Tim. 

As proud as he was of Sean’s education and vocation, he was infinitely more proud of Sean’s family.  Tim loved his daughter-in-law Beth dearly and their four children and thought of them daily, cheering for their sports, life, and academic achievements from Ohio, and visiting them in Tennessee as often as he was able.  Tim genuinely loved Ethan, Charis, Levi, and Zeke and wanted them to know, even though he struggled at times with how to say it, that each of them was uniquely loved and immensely important to him.

 

Tim and Barb have been active and indispensable in the life of their daughter and her family.  They were constant sources of babysitting, puppysitting, and support as they moved from Swanton, to Jackson, to Orrville and eventually to Ashland, where Tim and Barb finally settled.  They moved each time to be close to family, to invest themselves, and to share life with them.  Tim and Barb were present at nearly every possible event of “the boys”, even in the difficult 2020 seasons.  Caedon, Brody and Greyson, who nearly shared a birthday with Tim, will miss him at every event from here on out.  Tim was incredibly proud of his daughter and her career as a nurse, but even more so of the life she worked to create with her husband Chris.  Tim enjoyed watching the couple learn life’s many lessons and was always both encouraging and ornery in his advice and admiration regarding their milestones and achievements.  

Before being a grandfather, even a father, Tim was a husband.  He loved Barbara unconditionally for nearly 50 years.  He took his role as provider seriously, and he provided Barb with the best life he possibly could, but most of all, he truly valued her as his constant partner and participant in the life they shared, a life of love.  Love of God, and His only son Jesus.  Love of his son and daughter and their spouses.  Love of his grandchildren.  Love of his mother, his sister, and her family.  Love of his four-legged furry sidekick, Kibbles. 

Life took Tim from Findlay, Ohio to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania where he played football for the university and won the heart of Barbara, to Morocco, Africa where their son was born, to Coldwater, Michigan where his daughter was born, to Swanton, Ohio where they raised their family and where he worked as an air traffic controller, to wherever he felt he was needed most to support and cheer on his family.  And now, near the end of this crazy year, he moves to Heaven, where he is now praising the Jesus he knew so well, spending Christmas this year in the presence of his Lord and Savior.

Tim will be missed by those who loved him, which, quite honestly, is nearly everyone who was lucky enough to have known him.  His quiet, but mischievous nature was magnetic.  He will be missed by his mother and sister, by his son and daughter, by his grandchildren, by former coworkers and teammates, by students on the buses he drove and by me, his son-in-law, who would give nearly anything for one more cup of coffee, or glass of wine with him.  Tim was a good, good man and a very good friend, and I will miss him the rest of my days as I spend them doing my best to love his daughter and grandsons, along with the rest of the family, unconditionally; with just a touch of ornery, just like he taught me.