Remembering Daniel Timmons
5 years ago today the Tolkien community lost professor and respected Tolkien scholar, Daniel Timmons, after a long battle with ALS. We would like to take a moment today to remember and raise a toast to Dan and his lovely wife Sunny and their beautiful boy Marcos.We would like to capture some memories that were kindly shared with us in 2005...
A Sudden Departure Mourned
Dear Friends,
It was with great sadness that I received the news that my friend Dan Timmons had suddenly passed away Sunday December 18th, 2005. Dan, newly married and with an infant son, had been fighting a courageous battle with a very dibilitating illness for many months, and as all who knew him will attest, he displayed extraordinary and very inspiring strength and serenity throughout his ordeal.
Dan was a man who loved life and always displayed a quick wit and whose feelings were an open book. He laughed and cried readily, suffered when others he loved suffered, was constantly deeply engaged intellectually, and was as wonderful a friend as you could ever want. He touched many lives very meaningfully, and mine was and is no exception.
We met in August 2001, when he was told by a mutual acquaintance that I lived near Toronto, whereupon he called to arrange to interview me for a documentary project he'd decided on; The Legacy of The Lord of the Rings. (The now frequently broadcast documentary traces the influence and meaning for readers, authors, artists and scholars alike of Tolkien's classic epic novel.) Dan was a big fan of my Tolkien art, and although at that time I tended to be very uncomfortable with microphones and interviews, Dan's knowledge of Tolkien and friendly, disarming demeanor soon had me relaxed and able to express my thoughts articulately about my work and Tolkien. That interview occurred just as the the long awaited release of The Fellowship of the Ring film was approaching, and because I had recognized the importance of these films to my career, I think of Dan gratefully as someone who helped me overcome my media shyness just in time for the succession of invitations to conventions and the innumerable media interviews I've since accepted gratefully--and which continue.
But it will be the many enjoyable lunches (though now far too few) and other occasions of conversation and friendship that I will miss most. Dan became a trusted, much valued friend, and our conversations ranged far from our initial common language/love of Tolkien into religion, politics, sociology, music and other esoterica, along with much wise personal advice and wisdom between us on relationships and life in general. I will dearly miss him, and know he is now Home beyond the Halls of Mandos. May his personal Legacy long be remembered, and inspire those of us who had the good fortune to know this Great gentleman, teacher, scholar, loving husband and father.
(Posted by Ted Nasmith on December 29, 2005 in his blog at http://www.tednasmith.com/ and used with his permission.)
If you are interested, Daniel produced an excellent documentary, "The Legacy of the Lord of the Rings." There is a review of it at the Wellinghall Blog, along with information on how to order a copy.
Dan Timmons, R.I.P.
I was very sad to get the news today that Dan Timmons, best known as the editor (with George Clark) of J. R. R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances, passed away yesterday after a long illness.
I met Dan a number of years back at Kalamazoo, before Beowulf and the Critics or his book came out, and we had a wonderful, late, long and apparently too loud (someone yelled at us to get out of the courtyard because it was after 2 a.m.) conversation about our frustrations at getting Tolkien studies taken seriously by the academy.
Dan was an excellent scholar, a talented critic, and, most of all, a warm and generous person.
About a month ago, he sent me some very large and important entries for the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia (this led me to believe that he might be getting better, but, alas, that was not the case). His entries are testament to his excellent scholarship and, even more importantly, his essential fair-mindedness (a quality sadly lacking in too many critics -- and not my own strong suit). Dan wrote balanced and insightful treatments of controversial topics, and he combined a deep and abiding love of Tolkien's work with effective critical judgment. The field will miss the many additional contributions he would have made over the years, but even more, we will miss him.
(Posted by Michael Drout on December 19, 2005 in his blog at http://www.michaeldrout.com/ and used with his permission.)
Rest in the peace of the Valar, Daniel.
posted by ~ Lara @ 10:10 AM
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