Timothy Faris Sommers, our beloved brother, uncle, cousin and friend, passed away April 29, 2016, due to sepsis after open-heart surgery.

He was born in Morehead, Minnesota, on June 30, 1950, and lived in West Fargo, ND; Van Nuys, CA; Yuma and Somerton, AZ, before finally settling on Vashon Island, WA, as his permanent home in the mid-1970s.

Tim’s education began at O. C. Johnson Elementary School, then Somerton School, progressing to Kofa High School, and finally, Prescott College, where he studied science while dabbling in rock climbing, Outward Bound, rafting through the Grand Canyon and traveling throughout the United States with his friends, a period he described as one of the best times of his life.

Early in his career, Tim worked as lead electrical mechanic for Yuma Automotive Electric. On Vashon, he owned and operated Burton Shell, a gas station where he was the sole mechanic for more than a decade. After he sold the business, he joined the staff of Cherry Creek Windows & Doors where he eventually became VP in charge of production.

All his life, Tim was fascinated by inventing things and devising novel ways to construct them from scratch, such as the fireworks he created for a spectacular display for his family in the desert near their Somerton home one 4th of July.

A Renaissance man of sorts, Tim found real life far more fascinating than fiction. He loved anything related to science, especially electronics, computers, physics, astronomy and chemistry, and read voraciously in all these fields. He corresponded with radio enthusiasts all over the world and his many hobbies included panning for gold, music, cooking, repairing antique TVs, building model planes, studying rocketry and playing trumpet. He loved politics, writing his local and national politicians and penning letters to the editor. A die-hard Seahawks fan, he also enjoyed watching college sports and pro golf tournaments, always while pursuing several other hobbies simultaneously.

The family relished his company whenever he could manage a visit back to Arizona once or twice a year. Sitting outside in the sun by the pool was his favorite kind of day there.

Tim’s family and friends love him and will always miss him. He was a one-of-a-kind man who was brilliant, warm, kind and generous. A gifted conversationalist, Tim could speak knowledgeably with anyone on any given subject.

According to Tim’s wishes the family’s private memorial will be scattering his ashes “so my molecules will last forever on earth” on Puget Sound off Alki Point and into the Colorado River in Arizona.

Tim was preceded in death by his father, Faris Franklin Sommers, in 2008, and his mother, Patricia Lou (Early) Sommers, in 2010. He is survived by sister Lynn Shoop (Michael) and their sons: Nathan (Rocio/children Noah and Sam); Aaron (Rebecca); and Matthew (Vanessa); and Tim’s brothers, Frank Sommers and Scott Sommers (Delaine) and their son, Richard Hanen (Angie).

Tim and his family are grateful for the many friends who loved and cared for him and whom he always called his support system.

Paid Obituary.