Ode to an Older Time: Timothy Schirman

Timothy Schirman was born in Monroe, Wash., and said he spent most of his childhood there, attending and graduating from Monroe High School. Some of his favorite childhood memories include his time  in the Boy Scouts, collecting Hotwheels (which he still does to this day), and hunting for his family with his father. Schirman said that they had to have a deer for everyone in their family, and even his sister had to get one. 

Schirman said he attended Spokane Community College and graduated with a degree in Architectural Technology; he also went to the University of Maryland and got his degree in Command and Control. He shared that he loved sports and played football as a center linebacker while in school. After graduation he  enlisted in the Air Force, where he spent his next nine years. He traveled all around Pacific Asia, spending seven years of his time in the Philippines and visited Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and Cambodia. 

During his spare time in the Philippines, Schirman said he loved visiting an island that had a 100-foot tall waterfall at a pond; he shared that people could go behind the waterfall and sit when they got tired of swimming. Once, while at the waterfall, Schirman met a man who would climb up 50-foot palm trees and get coconuts for people for one peso per coconut.  

When Schirman left the Air Force, he had received a master sergeant ranking. He said his favorite thing about being in the Air Force was meeting people from all the different countries.

Schirman married Shawntina Schirman on April 7, 1995, and they lived in a blended household with his step-daughter, Tabitha Neilson, and his daughter, Lacy Schirman. Schirman said one of the wildest things he's done was go white water rafting with kayaks; he said he and his wife would tie a raft in between their kayaks and his two daughters would ride on the middle raft. 

The family moved to Stevens County when Schirman  took a job at Providence where he worked for21 years at Mt. Caramel, The Union, Catholic Charities, and was Chairman of Plans Committee for Habitat for Humanity. He said his main job was working on evacuation plans, and making health and safety plans. During this time, Schirman said he also toured schools for Providence, teaching students AutoCad, a software used for 2D and 3D design and drafting. Since retiring, Schirman said he loves fishing, working with wood, smoking meat, and researching off-the-grid living. He said the only thing he regrets is not going to Alaska when he was younger and “able to lead that kind of lifestyle.” Schirman said his favorite spots in Stevens County are Waitts Lake and the Colville River, both fishing spots for him. When asked if had any wisdom for the younger generation, he said “Put at least a dollar a day into savings, you'll thank yourself later.”