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My nephew Tim

The Legal Genealogist is back in the air this morning, this time sadly winging westward towards Chicago.

There, tomorrow, in the Lutheran church where he was baptized and confirmed, we will celebrate the life of Timothy Evan Geissler (1973-2017) — and mourn his loss. He will be laid to rest with his great grandparents and other kin privately on Monday.

That’s Tim there in this family photo from a reunion in 2002. The one on the left, in the wheelchair.

It’s what so many people noticed about him first. His physical limitations.

But that’s not what we saw when we looked at Tim.

We saw that impish smile.

We saw the Cubs shirt. (There really wasn’t a bigger Cubs fan any time any where on the face of the earth. The fact that he lived to see his beloved Cubs actually win the World Series may be the single biggest gift the Powers That Be could ever have bestowed on him.)

We saw the card sharp. You never ever ever wanted to play cards with that boy and put up more than you could afford to lose.

We saw a sense of humor that had no bounds.

We saw the loving son and brother and uncle.

We saw the nephew and cousin … and the friend.

We saw the heart and soul.

We saw the shining spirit that was Tim.

Rest in peace, beloved nephew.