Tim, Jane, Will and Marissa Boursaw Anniversary Pic at Old Mission Congregational Church; January 2021 | Jane Boursaw Photo
Tim, Jane, Will and Marissa Boursaw Anniversary Pic at Old Mission Congregational Church; January 2021 | Jane Boursaw Photo
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Dear Readers, when last I updated you, Tim was in ICU struggling to breathe. I asked for prayers and healing vibes that Tim would breathe freely, deep full breaths. Well, that prayer was granted, just not in the way we anticipated.

My soulmate passed onto his next adventure yesterday, Jan. 5, 2022 around 5 p.m. Our son Will and I were there with him, and we facetimed with our daughter, Marissa, who’d been here for Christmas but had returned to California where she lives and works. Tim and his team of doctors at both Munson and the University of Michigan Hospital agreed that ventilation was not an option for him, that he would not survive it. Every decision we’ve made since the pandemic started has been with the guidance of his doctors.

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And so he passed peacefully into the next world, where his body is now completely healed and free of pain, without any of the health issues he’s dealt with so bravely and strongly over the last 20 years. In fact, the last 20 years was all a gift of life when someone donated their loved one’s liver so Tim could keep on living. He saw our kids grow up and turn into incredible adults in those 20 years.

I will write more when I can piece thoughts together. Just know that we appreciate all the love and support and prayers you’ve all given us. It will take some getting used to having an Old Mission Peninsula without Tim Boursaw on it. But one of the last things he said to me was, “I will always be with you.” If two people were ever meant to be together, it was us. Two lifelong OMP residents, two farm kids running straight at life, often with a sketchy plan and not a lot of resources. But we managed to create a beautiful life on this piece of land we loved so much.

Tim lived a wild life in his youth, and honestly, he never expected to make it out of his 20s. But he made it to almost 70 (this coming February – a leap year birthday), and we had 42 amazing years together, including raising Will and Marissa here on the OMP. He was shocked that he almost made it to 70. “Who would have ever thought that would happen?” he said.

Each year, we took an anniversary photo on the steps of the Old Mission Congregational Church, where we were married on New Year’s Eve 1993. At the top of this story is the last photo we took with the four of us, taken in January 2021.

I will lean on my kids and family and all of you in the coming days, weeks and months. Know that Tim and I love and appreciate all of you so very much. We’ll have a celebration of life sometime this summer, probably at Bowers Harbor Park, where we can all be outside and share memories of this beloved guy who lived a lot of life in his almost-70 years.

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SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper.

Because Old Mission Gazette is a "Reader Supported Newspaper" -- meaning it exists because of your financial support -- I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks our way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. In a time when local news is becoming a thing of the past, supporting an independent community newspaper is more important now than ever. Thank you so much for your support! -Jane Boursaw, Editor/Publisher, Old Mission Gazette

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41 COMMENTS

  1. God bless you Jane🙏My heart is broken knowing our Timmy is gone, I loved him very much♥️ We will be checking on you in the next few days I have some great pictures for you!
    Love you
    Shirley 💋

  3. I am so so sorry to hear this. I have followed your writings and was so hoping for a different outcome for your family. Sending all my love and peace to you and yours.❤️

  10. Steve and I are very sorry to hear of Tim’s passing. We will miss him and his remembrances of growing up in Old Mission.

  11. JANE, we are so very sorry to hear of Tim’s death. I was praying so hard for him to stay with us. I remember him in his youthful days but didn’t know him well. When we moved back here from Colorado, I was walking down to the mailbox and this car goes by honking, waving and saying WELCOME BACK!!!!!!!!! I remember how nice that felt!!!!! Tim was a good and caring person and I’m so glad I got to know him better since we moved back. You and Tim are a team and he will always be there for you. Much love, Becky

  12. I am so sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time.
    ~Craig and Kerrie Berg

  13. So very, very sorry to hear this sad news. Praying that you and your children will find comfort in your happy memories of Tim.

  14. Dear Jane, Patti and I are so sorry to hear that Tim lost his battle with Covid. Having almost lost Patti a few years ago, I know what an affect this has on you and pray for both of you. Just know we are glad you are here with us, and if there is ever anything Patti and I can do for you we are here for you too. Rudy and Patti

  20. Jane, I am heartbroken for you and your family. I literally gasped when I saw your Facebook post. Your tribute to Tim is so touching. You truly had the love of a lifetime. You live life of gratitude which we should all learn from. ❤️

  23. I have no doubt that your beloved Tim “will always be with you” and your children Jane. We are so very sorry for you and your family. May all the love and memories you have give you strength and peace.

  24. I can’t even imagine what you are going through. My prayers are with you all. I’m so very sorry. Love to you Jane❤️

  25. I am so sorry your husband died. Being a Hospice volunteer, I’ve seen death many times. Each one is very unique and is a very personal transition away from this place. A sort of unraveling of everything that “was”. Each of us left behind is blessed with floods of memories that help us remember and cope. We are all just rowing right behind him. But our jobs are not done yet. Rest assure that even us casual visitors to your area are saddened, and will cope with the news in different ways. It is now your turn to be freer. To transition your mindset into everything that honors both you and him. I don’t know you, but I shed a tear at work this morning. It’s deep. Relative happiness will replace sadness. I hope you continue to share your words. They tie us all to your place in ways you’ll never know. Rejoice in the magic of life. Visit your favorite trees, trails, barns, and beaches. With love from northern Indiana……

  26. Jane, I’m so sorry for your loss. My sister passed away from COVID four months ago. Although we
    Have never met, I feel as if I have known you and your family through your photos and stories of life on Old Mission by reading UpNorth News. Treasure the memories.

  27. we rode my chopper to the Voter Registration Boogie, Tim. I tied a rope around my waist for your handhold and you almost pulled us into the ditch, singing “White Rabbit” the whole way to Fife Lake from Cherry Bend. We flopped next to the stage and you peered at me through the cylinders, “Is this America, Captain? Have we discovered it?” A weekend of Woodstock fun and we lined up our bikes, Hollywood style, in front of the local diner, where we pushed tables together, and about a dozen of us long-haired, unruly-just-out-of-our-teens, (except you) were about to hold court amidst a group of church-goers, just sitting down to their Sunday brunch…Our “middle-aged waitress” was having none of our guff and you popped up beside her, “Gentlemen! We are guests in this good woman’s kitchen! Line up! Wash up! Eat up! Only then will we trash this joint!” She landed you a shoulder punch that almost took you down and she caught you in a big hug and a laugh. We obeyed your command and returned, scrubbed up and orderly, and enjoyed breakfast with the townsfolk, chatting, joking, riding on your diplomatic coattails. You are one of a kind, old friend, and I’m sad to miss you, along with your family. Say hello to Josh for me.

  28. Dear Jane,

    I am so very sad to hear that Tim has left this world and it will indeed be a different OMP without him. In the 1970’s we met on Haserot Beach along with Tim, the Kings, Andress, Kroupa, the Hoopers, Manigold, Kelly, Edmondson, and so many other familiar peninsula names. I will never forget those times. You had impossibly long beautiful red hair. Everyone was wild, funny, and full of energy and always some mischief.

    In the last 20 years we have had some similar experiences, just miles apart. My husband Rich, after many years of a failing heart, received a heart transplant at Temple U. in April 2017. He needed a kidney but did not receive one and that along with other health problems led to his death in April 2020. If you remember that COVID time doctors stopped in-office visits and non emergency procedures, even though many were urgent. Rich was scheduled to get a port for in-home dialysis but they pushed it off to June, and he died in April. I always felt he was an indirect victim of COVID.

    We, like you, made many trips leading up to the transplant, and many follow-up trips afterward. We even went as far as Houston in search of a double transplant. The whole process takes an enormous amount of time and strength, for both the patient and spouse. It is truly a unique experience with unique challenges: meeting so many doctors, interviews, dealing with powerful anti-rejection medications, financial challenges, emotional challenges, and adjusting to a new “normal”.

    I was unable to be present with Rich when he died because they were not allowing anyone in the hospital at that time. It changes you forever. It is good to know that you were present for Tim… and for yourself. It is good to know that you have two beautiful children to help you get through this.

    My Rich loved Old Mission from the moment he woke up at a family cottage looking out at the water sparkling off the bay. It was 1995, and driving the peninsula was sheer joy. Exploring all the surrounding area never lost its charm. Rich walked the Mackinaw Bridge 2 different years on Labor Day. Breathing the fresh air, swimming, biking, listening to the local rock station, even grocery shopping was fun. Our discussions about moving to OMP never stopped and I am so grateful that I was able to share my love of the OMP with him. I regret that we did not get the chance to make that move together.

    I wish you strength in the coming months as you and your family try to cope with this enormous loss. I know many from the OMP will step up to support you, you just have to ask, which is a hard thing to do when you are grieving. You so frequently express gratitude for having the good fortune of living on the OMP your entire life. Tim had that same glorious good fortune. Tim was such a special person and he indeed found his soulmate in you. What a great long adventure you have had. You both were blessed.
    Beth Keenan Kairer

  29. Jane, Marty and I are so very sorry to hear about Tim’s passing, we never really got to know Tim very well but because of your recent posts and your many stories posted here about your family and friends, we know that he was a very special person and will be missed by so many. Much love Anita and Marty.

  31. I am blessed to have known Tim, he was a great person he will be missed by all who knew him. I grew up with and had many of good times and some not so good. Me like him never thought I’d live past 20, but we did and it was good. So sorry for your loss Jeff lardie

  33. Jane: So, so sorry to read of your loss. Actually my daughter Dawn (Feiger) Smith saw your beautiful ( really beautiful) announcement, and told us just tonight. Dawn just recently lost her daughter, so she can relate to what you are going through more than I, I am sure. I can not imagine with all you have gone through, you are amazing. Susan F.

  34. Jane — Dave and I are so sorry to hear this. We were so hoping he would turn the corner, as he has so many times in the past when health challenges have happened. Keeping you and your family in our prayers. He will be missed by many.

  38. Thinking of you, Jane, and your big circle of friends and family. We’re so glad we had a chance to spend time with Tim.
    Peace & love,
    Susan Odgers and Tom Mair

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