Klassen, Timothy Herbert (1960-1969)

Mennonite Brethren Herald obituary: 1969 Apr 18 p. 31

Birth date: 1960 Mar 04

text of obituary:

TIMOTHY HERBERT KLASSEN

God gave us Timmy early on the morning of March 4, 1960. He arrived during a very heavy snowfall. He proved to be a healthy baby who grew to be an active, curly-haired boy. Of his childhood we have many memories; these are two. He loved candy and always insisted on having his share. Then we can also picture him as a two-year old, wearing a red cowboy hat, riding his spring-mounted horse. In later years, he spent some time riding real ones.

He enjoyed his childhood, and played games very enthusiastically. We can remember very well how, only last fall, after a really good game of soccer or football on our front lawn with some of our other boys, he would come in glowing red in the face, hair wet, breathing deeply, but excited and contented. He really enjoyed, too, those occasions on a wet Sunday afternoon when we would join some friends at the gym and play a rousing game of floor hockey or soccer.

In this happy life, he learned to know the One who is Love, Jesus Christ. Very early, Tim learned to know and trust and love him, too. On several occasions, this came out in a wonderful way. Often when we as a family gathered for a time of devotions in the evening, he would add his personal prayers. In these last weeks, when he already was under the doctors' care and beginning to feel low, he once said to my wife, "Even when they have done everything, I still have Jesus." He had a great love toward his Savior. Like all boys, he had his good share of faults. He was sometimes very persistent when he wanted to have something and was perhaps a little too possessive. And yet we saw how Jesus changed him in this regard a little, too. On one of the last days on which we visited him, we took four of our children along. He was aware of this, and, before we left for home, he told my wife to buy some French fried potatoes - one of his favorites - on the way home for the others for his sake. In a similar way, Jesus probably wants to change some of us.

On January 29, after Timmy had been sick for a short while, his condition was tentatively diagnosed as internal cancer. During one week at the Chilliwack General Hospital, in spite of much good and loving care, his condition became worse. Because of the better facilities in Vancouver, the doctor recommended a move to Vancouver General Hospital. He spent one evening and night at home, and we then drove him to Vancouver on Thursday, Feb. 6. The nursing staff and doctors certainly did all that they could for him, and gave him wonderfully kind care. We, as a family, finally became more willing to commit him completely to the Lord. On Wednesday, February 12, at about eleven o'clock in the morning, with his mother present, Timmy was called home into eternity by his loving Heavenly Father, who loved Tim even more than we as a family do. And our response is - praise be to the Lord!

That is the short sketch of Tim's life which was read at the memorial service on Friday, February 14. God gave us, as a family, much peace and strength. We drove to the service singing songs of praise - and we would thank all of those who prayed for us and remembered us in various ways. God will bless and reward you. God has seen fit to use Timmy's departure to bless us in a variety of ways. It even became the stimulus which helped one young fellow to find the Lord. We have seen God's wonderfully loving hand in all of this so clearly that we have determined to seek God more diligently. Much of God's Word has become even more precious to us, and we look forward to a re-union, to seeing our wonderful Savior, more so than ever before. We thought this might be an encouragement to some of your readers, so we thought we should share it with you. God is good! Walfried and Helen Klassen and famiiy, Abbotsford, B.C.