SNN_December_2023

NEW ZEALAND SPINAL TRUST 12
SPECIAL DAY—One last flight in HOT.
I recall having a long conversation with Tim one day. His
recall of his life was exceptional, and having read his
book, Hurricane Tim—which I highly recommend (and is
available through the NZST Library), we had a wonderful
conversation about his past achievements and his life.
Again, his recall was immense. One particular part of the
conversation was about his several chopper crashes. He
held my eye with a steely glare for a moment, and with a
twinkle in his eye, said something along the lines that “…
of course the authorities regard any damage to the
undercarriage a crash”. Yet something else that defined
Tim’s character.
“Active body, active mind” was another of his mantras. It
was a mantra that obviously served him well. He had a
punishing exercise regime every day with his swimming,
rowing machine and gym work. It kept him young,
spritely and in good health.
Time was an avid support of the NZST. Every time I had
the pleasure of spending time with him, he would always
and without fail, speak of the NZST and the wonderful
work everyone involved did for the Trust and for spinal
cord impairment.
Tim was a family man. I would often catch up with him at
Lake Ruataniwha at rowing regattas. Tim’s twin
granddaughters rowed and were powerhouses in their
age-group. Tim knew everything about them in relation
to their results and standings. His pride blazed like a
beacon from him.
Prue is just as amazing and was his rock. It was with Prue
that, as CEO of the NZST, I discussed the support that she
and Tim gave the Trust. There were countless fundraisers
where Prue would organise Wanaka and Central Otago
‘Honour’ and ‘privilege’
sums up everything about
Tim and my relationship
with Tim and Prue.
—Ben Lucas
‘experiences’ for us to auction at events. It would be an
interesting exercise to total how much Tim and Prue have
raised for the Trust. It was a big job to coordinate these
experiences and the Trust is eternally grateful for the
support of the Wallis family.
At Tim’s funeral celebration, I met a couple of wheelies
from Wanaka. They both said that Tim reached out to
them after they were discharged from the Spinal Unit back
to Wanaka. Both said he had a big impact on their recovery
and adjustment to their new life. If you ever met Tim, you’d
know how profound his influence on your life was going to
be. I met him 22 years into my spinal journey, and he had a
big impact for me then and still does to this day.
It gave me solace when I heard of his passing, that he left
us due to old age and on his terms. Tim lived such a
high-risk life with his amazing adventures including
being basically run out of Russia by the mafia, and his
several plane and chopper ‘crashes’.
For Tim to die peacefully with his family close
by and a helicopter on his front lawn was fitting for such