[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 42 (Friday, March 8, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                       EULOGY FOR TIMOTHY COBURN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 8, 2024

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, on Monday February 12, 2024 a 
great force for good was laid to rest. The outpouring of love, 
admiration, and respect for Timothy Coburn was a fitting remembrance 
for a man whose life was dedicated to doing for others. He is a legend 
in his hometown of East Hanford and Mayberry Village, the federal 
housing project we grew up in. I include in the Record a eulogy that 
only touches the surface of this veteran and great American who never 
forgot his beginnings.
       Thank you, Father Mark, on behalf of Susan, Gabrielle, 
     Maryann & Katie.
       The outpouring of love, respect, and admiration for a man, 
     who used all of his vast skills to take care of others, so 
     many of whom are gathered in this room, who have been 
     beneficiaries of his benevolence.
       Gabrielle and Susan, the obituary was excellent, from that 
     handsome smiling Irish face to the content of thc obituary 
     and the enduring message about helping others, with a simple 
     yet poignant request: be kind to someone, even a stranger. It 
     makes a difference. So many gathered here and beyond can 
     attest to that. That was Tim Coburn! That was his request. 
     Sister Christine-Marie and the Sisters of Notre-Dame are 
     bursting with pride about the virtue of the man from Mayberry 
     Village they taught.
       It all starts at home, and home will always be 76 Great 
     Hill Road in Mayberry Village. Ruth and John's favorite son, 
     Maryann & Katie's favorite brother, Susan's devoted love and 
     husband, and Gabrelle's loving and caring father.
       Ruth and John deserve special acknowledgement. Mrs. Coburn 
     carted us all around the town to sporting events and brought 
     us treats when we were sleeping out in the backyard, as we 
     scrambled to hide the Playboys we were reading. We mostly 
     walked to Martin Park which was an upgrade from swimming at 
     BAB and the Hock. Mr. Coburn, with his shirt off in the 
     summer, looked like Tarzan, and he had that intimidating 
     look. You knew that you don't mess with John Coburn.
       Athleticism was engrained in Tim, and his father always had 
     Track and Field apparatus from the shotput, discus, hammer 
     throw, and high jump bars. In fact, Frank Coburn, Tim's 
     grandfather, was a star in his own right and a member of the 
     New York Athletic Club, who nearly went to the Olympics, so 
     being an athlete was in his genes.
       Talking with Carl Lepack, Gary and Jimmy Agnew, Kevin 
     Brown, and Dave Ryan, they all acknowledged Tim was the most 
     gifted athlete in our class. Lettering in football, 
     basketball, and track and being the captain of the track 
     team. He was also a great golfer, tennis player, and if we 
     had a pool in 1967, he would be a champion swimmer as well. 
     Above all, he was a competitor, he thrived on competition. We 
     were 5th and 6th grade basketball champions at Mayberry 
     school, we reminisced last September about the 98-yard 
     touchdown pass, he caught that beat Sunset Ridge with no time 
     left on the clock. We were still playing football in our late 
     20s for Mad Murphy's, and all the extracurricular activities 
     that involved. He competed at a high level in every sport he 
     played, but in track, like his grandfather, he excelled and 
     still holds the high school pole vault record, back when the 
     poles were still wooden and not fiberglass. But in sports as 
     in life, the thing about Tim is what mattered to him was the 
     camaraderie and how teamwork and teammates matter and become 
     friends for life.
       I went to school with Tim at the little red schoolhouse, 
     Sunset Ridge, Mayberry School, Saint Rose's, East Hartford 
     High School, and Central before he transferred and graduated 
     from UConn. There was a gang of us that hung together, and 
     Tim was the ringleader, always up for the next adventure and 
     next exploration. It was Tim, Carl Lepack, Rick Hurteau, 
     Roger O'Sullivan, Max McGrath, Nunzio Parente, Billy Beven, 
     Ronnie Boyer, and my brothers Dan and Chris. Whether it was 
     cruising the Hock in cement tubs, or swimming at BAB, hiking 
     up what is now Wickham Park--what was then Wickham Estates--
     playing every sport imaginable.
       It was on the Hockanum that we got pulled over by the East 
     Hartford police that chastised us for being in cement tubs, 
     scolding us about how dangerous it was. They took our names 
     and addresses and said they were going to talk to our 
     parents. By the time I got home, the officers already visited 
     my mother and admonish me and said, ``Wait until your father 
     gets home!'' I ran up to Tim's house to see if they had come 
     there as well, as we had papers to deliver. Tim said no as 
     they haven't been to his house, though they had driven by it. 
     So we stood at distance at his house, and we wondered why 
     they didn't stop and the reason was because Tim had taken the 
     6 of 76 and flipped it around to make it an 9. But he said 
     since I was going to face brutal punishment with my father 
     coming home, he would take me to Bergren's Dairy to get a hot 
     fudge sundae before I went home to face my father. But to my 
     amazement, when I got home, divine intervention happened, 
     Father Munich was doing the census and consoled my mother 
     that were the boys like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer in Huck 
     Finn. So, when I went up and told Tim Coburn that Father 
     Munich had saved my life and called us Tom Sawyer and Huck 
     Finn, Tim told me ``You owe me a hot fudge sundae.''
       Tim lived a life of helping others, he practiced his faith 
     and that carried over to his professional life. Healthcare 
     remains an extraordinarily challenging job, especially caring 
     for the elderly and disabled, and it's why this man of 
     compassion and commitment was so exceptional. He rose to 
     become the Executive Vice President of Medi-Plex and was 
     respected by everyone he worked with--in management, by the 
     employee's he worked with, and most importantly the patients 
     he served. When he left Medi-Plex, he went on to be the 
     person, the state of Connecticut, turned to, to help distress 
     facilities and became the leading administrator in the state 
     who had both, the experience and the credibility to save 
     homes from going out of business and provide people with 
     care. Tim, of course, credited the people he worked with, but 
     this was a guy that led by example. No task was beneath him 
     and time and again, he demonstrated to employees and patients 
     what leadership and caring are all about. Jim Malloy and 
     Brian Dickstein, underscored that professionalism and why he 
     was so successful and why the state relied on Tim. He lived a 
     life of helping other, and in doing so, he practiced his 
     faith.
       Tim was authentic and genuine, not a phony bone in his 
     body. Dependable, Tim was always there for everyone, 
     especially Gabrielle and Susan, he had wanted and hoped to 
     make it to Valentine's Day, which is Gabreille's birthday. 
     There's an old Irish saying ``Those we love don't go away, 
     they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always 
     near. Still loved, still missed, and very dear. Death leaves 
     a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory that no one 
     can steal.'' There is a great void in our lives, a great 
     force of good is gone. During his life and with his passing, 
     he showed us what courage and humility are, and that the most 
     precious thing we have is time, and the greatest thing in 
     life is not the things we possess but the time we have with 
     each other.
       So, as we leave here today and raise a glass in tribute to 
     Tim, let's honor his request--be kind to someone, even a 
     stranger, it makes a difference. Tim, thank you for being a 
     difference maker in our lives.

                          ____________________