-By Carolann Fisher Linn-
Last week, this paper shared the complete obituary of Timothy J. Cummiskey, 68, of Southgate Road in Bradford. What we weren’t told in the obit was the special kind soul he was: the person who treated every person with dignity, respect, and genuine care.
Ellicottvillians first got to know Tim when he started fitting boots at Dekdebrun’s Ski Shop about 30 years ago. Jack Kramer tells how he met Tim when Jack served as the Director of skiing at HoliMont Ski Club. He was in the store often and got to watch him in action with the many people who wanted him to fit their ski boots for them. When Tim moved to City Garage, he continued to learn the delicate art of fitting and took the courses necessary to become a Certified Ski Boot Fitter. A boot fitter is a skilled professional who typically fits skiers for boots but can adapt his or her skills to fit people for hiking boots or skates. The fitter determines foot size, weight-bearing needs and how mobile or rigid a customer’s feet and ankles appear. According to Kramer, Tim was the best boot fitter, ANYWHERE!
Of course, Kramer stressed that what created the lines of people who would wait until Tim was available to fit them was not only his expertise but “his personal touch. Everyone was important to him, whether they were an intermediate skier or an expert. He paid attention.” This earned him the beloved title of “Bootman.” Sean Lowes, his most recent employer couldn’t praise him enough for his loyalty and his popularity with the customers of City Garage.
Not only was Tim an accomplished boot fitter and skier, he was also a landscaper. Having had landscaping experience, Kramer was quick to point out that Tim excelled in that field as well. His knowledge of plants, their names, their uses, and plant design was superb, and true to his nature he was meticulous at the work which he shared with his daughter Christa.
All of his talents aside, Tim touched people in a lot of other ways. Kramer pointed out that when a man can have a child choose to run a business with her father and respect his knowledge and opinions, that says volumes about the kind of father Tim was. Tim’s longtime friend Patty Neal, (who met him, in 2005 when he fitted her for ski boots) was quick to point out how much he loved his two daughters, Cara and Christa, and his grandchildren, Jack and Ella, aged 2 and 6. “His girls and those two little ones were his whole life,” said Patty. “He regretted the fact that he would not live long enough to watch Jack and Ella grow into maturity.”
What a sheer privilege it was to listen to more than one person speak of Tim and hear the same words when describing Tim Cummiskey, the man, the friend, the sweetheart: kind; great listener – would talk with anybody about anything; great friend; a steady, calm considerate force; always dependable; always there; always took the time someone needed.
Tim battled pancreatic cancer for over 2.5 years, yet he and Patty managed to take things off his bucket list even though they didn’t make the trip to Alaska scheduled for this September, days before he passed on. They enjoyed a trip to Big Sky Montana in March, skiing with a group of friends, and in October of ‘21 got to enjoy the warm breezes and sandy beaches of Hawaii.
A very important part of Tim’s life was getting his life back once he joined AA 17 years ago. This very conscious move on his part gave him his children, his career, and his life. Both Kramer and Patty Neal stressed how proud Tim was of his 17 years of sobriety. Patty said, “He was living proof of what working the program means; It saved his life.” Kramer summed it up best: Tim was proudest of his family, his career and that he died sober. He knew that without his AA association, he would not have had any of the first two.
If any of you reading this were even casual friends with Tim Cummiskey, please stop and give thanks for the gift this friendship was. Even if you did not know him, as you learn about is caring and his qualities, consider learning from his example. If we all do this, the world will be a kinder place. One person does make a difference.