George Richard "Dick" Timke was born in Chicago Illinois on Monday, May 6th, 1940 to his father, George F. Timke and his mother Agnes J. Millan. He has two sisters, Joyce Ledbetter and Diane Cordova. At the age of 4 years old, his father passed away due to complications from rheumatic fever. As a teenager he moved to Colton, California. He began working at a gas station on the corner of La Cadena and Mt. Vernon. He returned to Chicago around the age of 16 to live with his grandparents, Harry and Mary Millan for about a year. He returned to California and attended Colton Union High School in 1958 and then San Bernardino Evening School where he earned his high school diploma in 1959.
At this age, Dick's passion for diesel trucks was at an all time high. He began hauling pipe and steel out of Kaiser steel for Ted Hollingsworth. His grandfather, Harry Millan, helped him buy his first truck from Harry Blanchard. It was a pink Peterbuilt truck. During the mid to late 60's Dick began driving for Stacy Transportation. Around 1967 Dick traded in his Peterbuilt truck for a Kenworth. He used his Kenworth truck to haul citrus from Arizona to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In 1968, on one of his trips in Arizona, Dick's dispatcher, Sam, set him up on a blind date with a girl named Amy. Amy refused to go without her friend Ignacia "Nacha" Vargas Ayala. They all met at a cafe on 4th Avenue in Yuma, Arizona. During the time at the cafe, a spark began with Nacha instead of Amy. Dick and Nacha had their first dance that day to "Fascination" by Nat King Cole. They began dating around September 1968. On December 6th, 1968 Dick and Nacha got married in Winterhaven, California and settled in Bloomington, California in 1970.
Over the next 10 years Dick and Nacha traveled to many places together. Dick began working for John Livacich hauling produce to locations along the coast of California and Nacha would travel with him. Dick then began working for Red Thompson hauling orange peels to Oregon, Washington, and Canada. Dick and Nacha enjoyed their time together driving to all these destinations.
Dick wanted to start a family and wanted to become a diesel mechanic, so he quit truck driving to spend more time at home. He enrolled at San Bernardino Valley College to study diesel mechanics. He was hired as a diesel mechanic by Dick Huizenga Trucking in Pomona, California. In August of 1979 Dick and Nacha had their first child, Frank Richard Timke. Dick was then hired to be a mechanic by Cummins in Rialto California. In May of 1981, their daughter Tania Micaela Timke was born. Dick started his own truck repair company, "Franatdi Enterprises." He also worked as a mechanic for Inland Kenworth in Fontana California. In the early 90's Dick went back to diving diesel trucks and was hired by Costco's fleet department making deliveries across southern California. If Dick wasn't working, then we was spending time with his son on the baseball field or taking his family on many family camping trips. Dick retired from Costco in 2008.
Dick and Nacha are blessed with six grandchildren, Anthony, Frankie, Siera, Misael, Joseph and Jacob. On October 3, 2022 Dick and Nacha were blessed with their first great grandchild, Lilian Marie Timke. Dick enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren everyday and working on various projects around the house. Dick was a devout Catholic and loved God above all else. He loved his animals and was always there for anyone who needed a helping hand. Dick was diagnosed with lung cancer in October of 2022 and passed peacefully surrounded by family on December 10th 2023. Dick is survived by his wife Nacha Timke, his son Frank Timke, his daughter Tania Tapia, his six grandchildren: Anthony, Frankie, Siera, Misael, Joseph, and Jacob and one great grandchild, Lilian. He is also survived by a sister and numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins. Dick was a wonderful person who was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
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