Timothy J. Haddad
Tim was a nearly lifelong resident of Sonoma County, born in Ventura on August 26, 1948. His parents were Don and Jody Haddad, who had a passion for fly fishing particularly on the Salmon River in Siskiyou County where they and extended family spent many years seasonally and for a time year round.
Tim worked hard to achieve his successes using his own initiative even at a very young age, such as selling racing forms at the county fairgrounds. He had the ability to persevere beyond setbacks and creatively solve dilemmas, teaching himself how to do challenging things such as complex home renovations and car repairs when money was tight. He gave complete focus to whatever he was doing and commonly used the phrase “it never hurts to ask for what you want”. His visual memory and retention of factual information were outstanding. These and other skills served him well in his lifetime.
Tim married his wife Sherry in 1968 and they had two children, David and Tobi. He married Vicki in 1998 after they met in 1996 on a Friday after work at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma. Having accepted her invitation to dance, they were together from there on. Additional family includes: sister Berdine Barteaux, brother Steve Haddad (wife Colleen), son Dave Haddad (his wife Nicole and their son Anthony), grandchildren Derek, Katie and Andrew Honey and their father Dave as well as his brother-in-law Steve Humphry.
He was drafted during the Viet Nam war even though married with one child while attending college and working. After training as a medic (and later an x-ray technician) he was stationed in Germany where he opted to stay for a time after discharge. Thus began a lifelong enthusiasm for European and other travel which he and Vicki continued throughout their marriage.
Tim loved learning and changed majors frequently to access the classes of professors reputed to be good instructors, the course content sometimes being a secondary factor. After focusing on Environmental Studies he obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and worked in Planning Departments for Sonoma, Solano and Marin. He retired from his job as Environmental Planning Coordinator for Marin in 2010.
In the course of his work and other life experiences Tim had great stories to tell (sometimes with a bit of embellishment!). He met a number of famous as well as infamous people (the latter while working as a nurse on the Vacaville Prison psychiatric ward). His great sense of humor and entertaining anecdotes wove into the evening cocktail time along with lively conversations and lots of heated political commentary.
Tim had a special ability to connect with his grandchildren by playing on their level and to create wonderfully exciting experiences for them (such as the staged “archeological dig” at the creek below the house).
He had strong feelings and interests across many areas that he was always well informed about: politics, art, surfing in earlier years, classic cars were a particular passion (his beloved 1969 Jaguar XKE and 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II), mushroom hunting, reading of all kinds (including poetry), setting up themed parties and dinners for friends and family, his Old English Sheepdogs and creating elegant picnics in the middle of nowhere.
Tim and Vicki spent many years improving their home and property in Bennett Valley for which he provided the majority of the labor. The relatively small house with a rock exterior, slate roof and turrets looked like a miniature castle, so it seemed fitting to put a suit of armor in the kitchen which they did!
Tim died of cancer at the age of 73 on May 13, 2022, following five years of treatments and interventions. He was a masterful self advocate for his health as well as unfailingly strong and positive showing more care for others than himself, especially to Vicki.
Tim treasured his relationships with friends and supportive family. He is dearly and lovingly missed. Friends and acquaintances can reach Vicki at [email protected] to share stories and to stay informed about a future celebration of life.
Published by Press Democrat on Jul. 31, 2022.
Credit: Source link
