Timothy (Tim) Russell Wasik, Sr., 71, passed away on June 6, 2018 in Caldwell, Idaho. He was born March 12, 1947 to John and Arlene (Biesack) Wasik in Racine, Wisconsin.
Tim served in the U.S. Army from 1964 to 1969, where he trained at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was a sharpshooter, heavy duty diesel mechanic and cook. He also served one tour in Vietnam.
After the army, Tim returned to Racine, Wisconsin, where he worked at J.I. Case, Bell City Foundry, and E.C. Styberg Engineering before moving to California.
Tim worked for Sunkist, Sunoko Cans and Palm Springs Golf in Southern California before moving to Camp Verde, Arizona where he sold appliances.
Tim moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he sold mobile homes for Heritage Homes. He then moved to Kingman, Arizona, where he continued to sell mobile homes for the next 15 years until he retired. It was in Kingman that Tim met his future wife, Deborah, in 1994. They were good friends and married in 2004. They enjoyed the same things and were great partners in life.
Tim was involved in C.A.S.I., which stands for Chili Appreciation Society International, making chili for competitions in which the proceeds went to charities. He enjoyed traveling throughout the U.S. making his chili. He enjoyed going to Civil War Battle Fields, exploring the cities, and seeing the encampments and reenactments.
Tim also enjoyed going on several cruises to the Mexican Riviera with his wife, sister and brother-in-law.
Tim loved boating and fishing. After buying 3 new boats, he realized that the pontoon was the ideal boat for him. He loved taking his friends out on the boat and their time fishing together. He even took special needs kids and adults for rides to give them a happy time.
Tim loved RVing. They bought several RVs throughout the years, updating on the needs of future plans. They spent the weekends on the Colorado River in Southern Arizona, fishing, camping and boating.
They moved to Texas in 2009 and enjoyed life as Texans, doing a lot of chili cook-offs, RVing, sightseeing and fishing. Tim took up Texas BBQing, smoking briskets and pork roasts. He said Debbie turned him into a real Texan, y’all!
In 2016, they decided to put the house on the market and go fulltime RVing. What a blast he had! He loved traveling the northern U.S. in the summer and the southern U.S. in the winter. They decided to have their base home in Idaho in summer and the southern U.S. in the winter as it was getting harder for him to travel long distances. They traveled to Wisconsin for a month each May or June. Unfortunately, that trip didn’t happen this year as he wasn’t up to making the long haul.
Tim found his dream car, a ’68 Mercury Monterrey, last summer while they were in Idaho. During the winter he had it restored with the hope of entering it in local car shows. He got it out of the paint shop just 3 days before he passed away, but he was so proud to drive it around town. He “scooped the loop” as y’all say in Wisconsin!
Tim belonged to the Fraternal Order of the Eagles in Nampa, Idaho; American Legion Post 35 in Caldwell, Idaho; Benevolent Order of Elks Lodge #476 (life member) in Yuma, Arizona; Loyal Order of Moose Lodge #286 in Kenosha, Wisconsin; Veterans of Foreign Wars (national life member); and C.A.S.I. Chili Society.
He loved his family very much!
He is survived by his wife, Deborah Wasik; daughter, Tina Lynn Wasik; son, Timothy Russell Wasik, Jr.; sisters, Lori (Bob) Cassaletti, Jett Wasik and Shelia Wasik; a brother, Charles (Linda) Wasik; stepdaughters, Kimberly (Adam) Weller, Chrystal (Jarrod) Merritt; grandchildren, Justin, Corey, Elena, Mackenzie, Samuel, Seth, Aaron, Adalie, Jordon, Bo, Aryanna; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Tim was preceded in death by his mother, Arlene Biesack Wasik.
Graveside memorial services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 8th at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery 21731 Spring St, Union Grove, Wisconsin. Condolences and memories may be shared at www.dakanfuneralchapel.com
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