Timps

Brock Bockenstedt

                The first time I met Gordon Timpany, it was a visit to UNI to see my older brother. He introduced me to Gordon as his little brother B.J. Gordon promptly responded by saying, “B.J., that sounds too much like blow job. What is your real name?” I told him Brock and have been going by that ever since. Gordon was not always so blunt with people; actually he was the most humble man you could have met. Little did I know that he would help to shape my life. My life was not the only one that Gordon touched, and I would bet that there is someone you know whose life has been touched by Gordon.

                Gordon Timpany was a man about six feet tall, in his sixties, and a gray balding head. He wore glasses and many times you could catch him with a camera around his neck. It was not Gordon’s stature that amazed and touched people, it was his passion about life and others which would make you look at your own life in retrospect. He was strong willed, easy going, and could make you feel comfortable no matter who you were or what environment you were in.

                Gordon initially came to the University of Northern Iowa in 1967 where he served as the associate professor of Business. He was a teacher and mentor to all students until he retired in 1997. In 1967 he decided to take on a huge commitment that was probably more of a burden than anything else, but he would never say that. Gordon became chapter advisor for Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity here at UNI.  He was not a member of SAE, but had been a member of a social fraternity when he was in college at Illinois. Either way, he took on the task to lead young men on the path to success. After giving a good portion of his life to see the men of SAE thrive and graduate from UNI, the national fraternity as a whole decided that we should allow Gordon to see all of what we had to offer. He was allowed to initiate into our fraternity in 1991, the first member of another fraternity to be initiated into SAE. In his late fifties at that time, Gordon was honored and if possible, became more passionate about the young men in which he gave his time to.

                Gordon received the outstanding chapter advisor award several times and moved on to become our province archon, which means he was in charge of all the SAE fraternities in the Midwest. He later won the award for outstanding province archon. He was also awarded the merit key while giving his services to the fraternity, UNI, Cedar Falls community, and his family. Gordon also worked with the American Red Cross for over thirty years, setting up blood drives, CPR sessions, serving on their committee, and any other type of service he could provide through them. Almost five years ago, after Kurt Warner won his first super bowl, there was a charity event held in Cedar Falls where Kurt to signed memorabilia for fans while other charity services were provided for the community. Gordon was the individual who set up and controlled that event. Gordon received many awards and recognitions, but it was not his award that made you remember him. In fact, if it was up to Gordon, every award would have been given to anyone but him.

                One of Gordon’s greatest achievements was the rebuilding of a new Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house. Throughout his years of helping the brothers here at UNI, Gordon began to realize that college men can be destructive. The old house was a prime example and was beginning to fall apart. He spearheaded a project to raise money to build a new house and did this for around fifteen years. He even carried around a model of the house to any potential donators and investors into the house. Finally the chapter house and Gordon had received enough support to begin the demolition of the old house and the building of the new.

                It was at this time that I met Gordon. The house was not complete and I was showing up to go on a tour with my older brother. I could tell then, through the way he could communicate with college fraternity guys one moment, and parents and friends the next, that this was an extraordinary man. He spoke with such charisma and a sense of accomplishment when referring to the structure of the house. People seemed to be drawn to his presence and when you finally drew yourself away, you seemed to feel more confident about yourself but not knowing why. The fraternity brothers could all joke around with him because he could talk as much smack as anyone I knew. Yet, no one ever disrespected Gordon. He commanded respect whether you knew him or not and there was never a reason to disrespect him.

                Gordon never boasted of anything he had achieved. He was happy when others were affected though his works. He also recognized when others worked hard and would always let them know. Gordon was there every step of the way with his Kodak camera taking pictures of anything and everything. One thing many people did not know, was that while the new house was being built, Gordon kept all the pictures, SAE gear, entertainment center, and any other stuff that was in the old house jammed into his basement. There was so much down there that you only had a small walkway to get around. I remember my freshman year when we were finishing the new fraternity house, my roommate and I had been spending time working on the house whenever we could. Gordon came up and told us to jump into his van, he said he wanted to give us something. We went up to his house and he began digging through closets pulling out all sorts of SAE memorabilia. It was all his own SAE gear that he collected over the years and not things left over from the old house. Then he began to give us all of these different things; t-shirts, cups, window stickers, and a few other things. He began to speak on how he realized what type of effort we had been putting in and that the other guys had appreciated it as well. Even though these gifts were not extravagant, coming from Gordon it meant something. It was his ability to make others feel better about themselves which attracted people to Gordon.

                When spring of the year 2000 began to roll around you could see that Gordon was not looking as healthy as he had been. He tried not to let it show, but you could see that some of the energy you could always see in his eyes was beginning to fade. He was beginning to lose weight and that passion with pancreatic cancer. He did not want to tell everyone but it did explain why he had finally resigned as the chapter advisor. The fraternity house which seemingly was on top of the world, felt like it was about to come tumbling down.

                In July of 2000, Gordon was given the Distinguishing Service Award. The highest honor a fraternity member can receive. I was at his house for the presentation. Gordon was too sick to really go anywhere for any type for formal event. I looked at him then, sitting in his chair appearing to be withering away before my eyes. He almost began to cry at that moment. I can not imagine what was going through his mind but he still managed to say, “There are so many other people who are more deserving of this award. This should go to all of you.” Even through illness, Gordon let his life exude through that of the fraternity, its members, his family, his friends, and anyone that knew him. That was the last day I saw Gordon alive, he passed away a few weeks later.

                I do not believe I had ever seen so many grown men cry as I did at Gordon’s funeral. He touched so many lives in so many ways that we can never repay him. I can never repay him. I only knew Gordon Timpany for a year, but that was enough for him to have a lasting effect on my life. Had you only known him for a second, your life would be changed also. Gordon Timpany, or Timps as we all liked to call him, will always be a part of SAE. All you need to do is come to our house and go into Gordon’s room. The model of the house that he carried around with him is in there. Hanging across the walls are a few of the several awards he has won. A photo album sits on one of the tables containing a small sample of pictures he had taken. A painting sits on one of the walls, a portrait of Gordon himself, and across the room another picture hangs, a picture of all the members in the house. Gordon is still looking over us. Thank you Gordon.