James G. Timmermann

James Gerard Timmermann, loving husband, father, brother, friend, and devoted newspaper man died Sunday, October 25, at home after experiencing complications following bone marrow transplant for myelodysplastic syndrome. Jim was born in Breese, Illinois, on February 3, 1959, to Jeanne (Hitchcock) and Vernon Timmermann. Jim grew up in Granada Hills, California, attending St. John Baptist de la Salle grade school and Kennedy High. He is a 1981 graduate of Pomona College and a 1985 Jeopardy champion. Journalism was Jim's calling, and he began his career as the sole editor and reporter for the Sun Valley Scene and Montrose Record-Ledger for American Publishing in Tujunga, California. He then moved on to business reporting and editorial roles at The Daily Commerce in Los Angeles and The Pasadena Star-News in California. After marriage, Jim left California as a trailing spouse, bought his first winter coat, and became a news editor with The Ithaca Journal in upstate New York. He moved to Michigan and joined The Holland Sentinel in 1994 and became Managing Editor in 1997. In 2000 the paper won the Michigan Press Association's General Excellence Award as the best overall publication in its circulation category. He was most recently the Opinion Page Editor and was honored in that role with several awards from the Michigan Press Association and The Associated Press, including best editorial in its circulation category in the 2011 Michigan AP contest. Jim was known for his fine writing and editorial judgment and love of information. He was a devoted father, a volunteer with a passion for education and human rights, and a Dodgers fan, who in college had his dream job as an usher at Dodger Stadium. He was a member of St. Francis de Sales Pastoral Council, played Pharisee #2 in the parish's Via Crucis, and sang loudly and napped freely in church. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Sanford and children, Daniel, Kevin, Eleanor and Evelyn, all of Holland; brothers Michael (June Okamoto) of Torrance, California, Thomas (Carol Needham, niece Genevieve) of Clayton, Missouri, and Robert (Lori Buchanan) of Tujunga, California, sister-in-law Rebecca Sanford of Wareham, Massachusetts and his "little brother" Victor Rodriguez of Holland. Cremation has taken place and a Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Nov. 20 (visitation at 1 p.m., reception to follow) at St. Francis de Sales Church in Holland. Interment will be at Agawam Cemetery in Wareham, Massachusetts. Memorials may be made to the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Be The Match or Amnesty International.

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James G. Timmermann