Christopher Bradley Timmers

Mr. Timmers passed away on Friday, November 8, 2024, after a difficult but comparatively brief struggle with cancer at the age of 76. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was the son of the late Robert William Timmers and Mary Elizabeth Carr Timmers. Surviving are his wife, Cynthia O. Timmers; brothers, Mark Timmers of Atlanta and Dan Timmers of Jacksonville; and sons, Bradley Timmers of New Jersey and Kody Timmers of Charlotte.

In addition to his parents, he will join his daughter, Megan Timmers; his sister, Tricia Caudell; and his niece, Anna Caudell.

The family wishes to thank his friends from USMA cadet company D-1; the caring staff at Lexington Medical Center and Millennium Post-Acute Rehabilitation; and all the prayer groups that have been supportive of Chris and his family from the beginning.

In lieu of flowers or gifts to his family, memorials may be made to the Fisher House Foundation (https://www.fisherhouse.org/). This charity provides free lodgings, meals, and local transportation to veterans and their families while they are receiving medical treatment. Chris and his family benefited from their services during his treatment.

Chris Timmers was a man with a good heart and a wicked sense of humor, who preferred the pleasures of solitude yet also could draw people out in conversation and hold them spellbound. His intellectual curiosity was boundless and led him to a rich and varied life. As an adult he ran a marathon and played rec-league lacrosse; took up calligraphy and mathematics; memorized classic poems in full; listened to classical music avidly; and read voraciously, including works in their original languages of Latin and German.

He was a West Point graduate (class of 1971) and a Division I men’s gymnast, lifting the USMA to victory over the Naval Academy with his final routine in their 1971 match-up. After graduation, he was commissioned an officer in the US Army. He went through Ranger School (winter session) and became a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. The exhilaration of jumping from planes (which he did over 40 times while in the service) remained one of his fondest memories of his time in the military.

He served seven years in the US Army, spending a portion of that time stationed in West Germany, and rising to the rank of captain. He then spent a long career in industrial sales, eventually specializing in medical plastics and tubing: “Think catheters and stents,” he would always say.

After he retired from sales, he had a successful third act as a professional writer, working both as a reporter for a local newspaper and as a book reviewer for national publications. Of particular note, he had seven of his book reviews published in the Times (of London) Literary Supplement, perhaps the most eminent literary review in the English-speaking world.

He was active in local politics throughout his life, and gave back to the West Point community as well. It’s not especially well known that, to get into a US service academy, an applicant needs to be endorsed by their local Congressperson. Mr. Timmers served in a pro-bono capacity for years as an official interviewer of West Point applicants for his local Congressman. He often remained in touch with those applicants he met, mentoring them and even attending their graduations from West Point.

The loss of Chris to his family is immeasurable, and his positive influence on them was incalculable. He will forever be missed. We welcome you to leave your memories of him on this page.

"Durarent, secundisque rebus se servarent"

("Still to endure through all essays

And keep themselves for better days"

-- Virgil)