Tim Esakin

Tim Esakin died peacefully with his daughter by his bedside in the Burnaby Hospital Palliative Care Unit on December 10, 2024 at 11:30am. Tim struggled the past year with several bacterial infections and was unable to recover from the last one. His strong

constitution and mental determination kept him living independently in his home up until his last hospital stay. Tim’s home was a place he loved above all else.

Tim was born in Grand Forks, BC on May 20, 1939 into a Russian Doukhobor family. His father, Alec, and mother, Tania, raised him on their farm with a huge garden, a cow, several chickens and honey bees. Tim had an older brother, Cecil, and two older sisters,

Helen and Tillie, who died before him. Doukhobors lived off their land and were vegetarians. Tim left those traditions when he moved to Vancouver upon graduation, although he loved when his mom would bring homemade pyrahi, vareniki, lapshevnik and

borscht.

Tim met the love of his life, Judi, when they were both living downtown on Comox Street. They married when Judi was 19 and Tim was 23. They had two children, Thomas, born in 1964 and Karen, born in 1966.

After dabbling in retail jobs at Army and Navy and Harry Goldman, Tim applied for a position with the Edmonton Police Force and was accepted in May 1965. After completing his training and working for a year, Judi decided that Edmonton was far too cold to live. Tim applied for a position with the Vancouver Police Force and was hired in July 1966. Tim and Judi lived in their home in North Burnaby until their deaths, Judi dying in August 1989 and Tim, 35 years later. Tim never married after Judi died, remaining single up until his death.

Tim’s love for asking questions and listening eventually led him towards a career in detective work with the Vancouver Police. His last position was a detective in fraud. Tim was known for his inquisitive nature on a personal level as well. He was extremely

interested in peoples’ lives and this became evident in his church community.

Tim was a member of Broadway Church for 54 years. Judi and Tim became Christians together and Jesus completely changed their lives. Tim was a greeter at the church as well as a volunteer in the kitchen. He once sang in the Singing Christmas tree and in the church choir, which his family found entertaining. Tim enjoyed his church community and the volunteer activities he was engaged in.

When at home, Tim would listen to evangelical programs on his old transistor radio. He had a passion for reading everything relating to the Bible, scripture, prophecy and history. Tim knew a lot about the Bible and could give detailed accounts of kings and rulers in the Old Testament. He always had a story to tell that was relevant to the current times. Tim also kept up on political news and was well-informed on world, national and local events.

Tim was avid about health and exercise. Due to the influence of his farm to table upbringing, he brought the value of healthy eating to his own family, making salads, Russian wholewheat hotcakes, apple pudding and fried potatoes with onions, his specialty. Tim consistently had a bowl of peanuts with raisins on the kitchen table and he loved eating kale. Tim exercised regularly up until his health deteriorated over the past few years, either jogging around Burnaby Lake or using the weights in his personalized basement gym. He was known to take his children on long walks and hikes in nature.

In high school, Tim played basketball, but his love was for watching North American football, most specifically the CFL. While in the hospital, his daughter was able to stream the recent Grey Cup game on her computer, since he was excited that Vancouver

was hosting the final. Tim enjoyed watching NFL games as well and, on the last night of his life, Karen played the Bengals/Dallas game for him.

Wherever Tim went, people knew him to be a sharp, kind, funny, respectful, considerate and gentle man. Whether it was at the grocery store, drug store, doctor’s office, hospital or church, people said the same thing, “Tim is such a nice man.”

Tim is survived by his son, Thomas (Walter), his daughter, Karen (Eric) and his three grandchildren, Christian, Anders and Hendrik. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Burnaby Hospital Foundation, Palliative Care Unit.

Tim’s burial service will be on February 14, 2025 at 9am, Forest Lawn Cemetery. Tim’s memorial service will be on February 14, 2025 at 11am, Broadway Church Fireside Room,

with tea and light snacks to follow.