The Derb

[MrsDERB]

Hi everyone. This is Gloria, Tim`s wife (sorry, I forget what wife is called in ham-speak). 

I just want to update everyone on Tim`s condition.
He has been at home for 6 1/2 weeks now. When he first came home he was very much like the Tim you all knew except that he was not mobile. Unfortunately, that has changed as his disease has progressed. Don`t get me wrong, he`s still Tim, and he will still crack the right joke at the right time to prove it, but he is definitely slipping away.

His vision started going about 2 weeks ago, and he can`t see well enough to even try to type, which was difficult enough for him even before that.  His right arm and hand are starting to be affected, and he is very shaky. Sometimes he needs help eating and drinking, sometimes not. His speech started getting very slurred and hard to understand about a week ago, and that makes it almost impossible for him to talk with anyone on the phone. He still hears and understands just as well as before, however, just has a hard time getting the words out.

I don`t know how long he has, but I fear it won`t be very long. Just this morning he exhibited new signs that the disease is progressing more and more. The good news is that he insists every day that he`s not in any pain. I know he would tell me if he was and would be asking for something to relieve it, and other than some occasional headaches, he has been pretty well off in that way. I can`t tell you how thankful I am for that.

It is very hard for me to write this, but I`ve been putting it off for too long as it is. I will print out and read to him all of the responses he`s gotten to his most recent threads. I know all of you care about him, you`ve shown that many times in the past. Tim knows it too.

I also want to take this opportunity to tell you all just how grateful I am for everything that you`ve done for The Derb.  I feel absolutely awful about the Radeon transmitter. Tim  was so stressed out about how he was going to get it here, and now the terrible irony is that it`s here (thanks again to so many wonderful people on this board) and ready to get set up and he hasn`t even seen it.  He has been bedridden since the day he came home. I just feel so terrible that his dream of operating it never came true. 

Please keep him in your thoughts in the coming days. We both consider all of you a part of his family, and I for one am grateful that he found so much happiness through radio and this board and all of you.

May all of you be blessed and remember to hug your loved ones a little tighter and more often.  I know I will.

Glo

[W1DAN]

Glo:

Thank you for taking the time to update us.

Tim is a good family member here and I and others think of him often.

Please take care of you both, and do not be a stranger here.

Hugs,
Dan

[K5UJ]

I have been through this with a family member and know how emotionally devastating this experience is, so thanks for taking time and effort to provide a report on Derb's condition.   It is unbelievably hard to see someone slip away but death is a natural thing, the last natural thing we do here.  None of us get out of here alive, and we leave taking nothing with us.  It is important that you tell him some things, that he has been a good husband, provider, and has left us with a good example of what a ham should be.  Don't worry about the transmitter--these other things matter much more.  Also keep in mind millions of people are going through the same sort of thing every day so you are not alone.  If you have hospice care do not hesitate to take advantage of any counseling they offer if you need it and stay in touch with us.

Rob

[WD8BIL]

Wow Glo,
My thoughts and prayers are with the both of you daily.

Buddly

[W3GMS]

Hi Glo,

I feel your pain and have gone through similar things with my Dad and younger sister but that still does not make anything easier.  I know he deeply appreciates all the care you have and are currently giving him.  He lights up when your in his presence and that came through every time I saw you two together.  You make him very happy!!!  I never got to know Derb as well as others, but I will think back fondly to the last lunch we all had at the restaurant down at Timonium when Frank and Carol were not able to have his normal food fest.  Fortunately Martha and I sat close to him and we had some pretty good one on one conversations which I like the most.  Going back in time a bit, those gatherings at Frank and Carol's were extremely memorable.  Derb and I both like the really old radios!  Black wrinkle panels certainly rule! 
Getting the Raytheon to your QTH was a labor of love from his friends.  Radio karma is good and even though he has not seen it, he is glad its at your place and it tells him even more about his friends! 
I wish peace be with both of you.  I told my Dad that the "Magic Carpet Ride will be soon". 

Sincerely,
Joe, W3GMS

[WBear2GCR]

Whew. 

I'm so sorry to read this.
I was really hoping and looking forward to hearing that Raytheon on-the-air.
I know "The Derb" certainly was.
But that there was something we could do.

Perhaps he would like it if you could set up a receiver in the room with him, so he could just listen to 75m AM... I know I would like it, and always have when I have been ill and not felt well.

If you need some help or tips on how to make that happen, I am sure that someone who knows what's there could help and make suggestions on how to do that...

                     _-_-WBear2GCR

                             

[K2PG]

I am so sorry to hear that. Although I never spoke to Derb on the air, I met both of you in person a couple of times at Frank and Carol's post-Timonium party. Let him know that all of us in the AM community are pulling for him.

[KB2WIG]

" Perhaps he would like it if you could set up a receiver in the room with him, so he could just listen to 75m AM. "


I don't know if this would be worthwhile. Could he operate  a key at his bedside?

klc

[W1RC]

Tim and Gloria:

Uncharacteristically I am at a loss for words.  You are in our thoughts.  I am glad that you are not in pain.

We'll see you on the other side, Bro!

73,

MrMike, W1RC

[KA8WTK]

Tim and Glo,
  We're all here for you and pulling for both of you with our thoughts and prayers.

Bill
KA8WTK

[WA3VJB]

Thanks, Glo, please let Tim know we think about him and miss him.

Friends like him don't come into our lives very often, and he really needs to know we will have good thoughts of him for many years to come.

[W7TFO]

Wishing you a miracle.

73DG

[W3SLK]

With nothing more to offer than my prayers for the both of you, I can only hope and pray for a recovery.

[VE3GZB]

He's in my thoughts. The chief engineer knows what is best for him and will look after him.

73s geo VE3GZB

[KX5JT]

The Chief Engineer!  I like that.  My thoughts/prayers and good energies are with you Glo and Deb.

John KX5JT

[Opcom]

:-(   Lord, have mercy

[K1JJ]

Sad news indeed.  I hope you can set up a receiver there Glo.

It's been a good run, Derb. As the ham seasons pass, we'll always remember you.  The BJB will ride again in our hearts.

T

[W3RSW]

The very best to you both Tim, Flo.
I wish I'd gotten to know you both better.

Tim, you've been a paragon of courage for all of us.
God Speed and 73's for now OM.

-very sincerely yours,
Rick

[The Slab Bacon]

As I get choked up on this. All I can say is Godspeed and God Bless. I love you both! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[Carl WA1KPD]

Tim and Gloria,

I'm glad to hear that Tim is not in physical pain and that if he is he is willing to address it through the "miracles of modern chemistry".  You have made us laugh, cry and realize what a good group this can be.

We never worked, never met, but I have enjoyed you posts and discussions here particularly about the Junkston Flashbox.

With the bands opening back up, maybe we will work you DX from your new QTH. If not, we will met at a fester up there. I prefer darker beers then Rolling Rock, but we can work that out

Gloria, you have been great about juggling all this and keeping us informed. Our support and care goes to you as well. Tim found a very special person to marry

73
Carl
WA1KPD

[w3jn]

Here are some of my memories of Tim:

I had been inactive for a long time (posted overseas, long story) and met HUZ thru work.  He suggested I get on AM and I went home that night and listened on 3885.  A rock crushing signal from N3DRB was one of the first things I heard.  It was a typical cut-up breakin session on 75, and I thought - jeez, imagine that, guys having FUN on the air!  From that point I was hooked.

I first met Tim at Timonium, and fondly remember him trolling 11 meters from his truck at the post Timonium pharty.  I'm pretty sure that's the year I got my present call and everyone I met busted out laughing at the "JN".  That's also the year I ran over a six pack of beer bottles in the Timonium parking lot and blew a tire in my old orange Ford pickemup...

Had many a QSO with Tim and the gang with my Valiant and a G5RV    I got posted overseas again, and the first hamfest on my return was the Howard County MD hamfest.  It seemed that in my absence Tim decided to screw ham radio.  There he was - angrily firing tubes, wire, etc., into the dumpster  

I might have my timeframe mixed up a bit, but as I recall he kept an old Stancor transmitter and a receiver, and we discussed hooking up a VFO to the Stancor - he was rockbound with it - and he mentioned at the time he met a great YL up in PA and gave her a shortwave receiver so she could listen.  And she actually did (hi, Glo!!) .

Tim was a charter member of this board and despite his inactive status kept up with the gang here.  He survived the brain cancer thing and I next saw him and Gloria in person at the Berryville 'fester.  He could hardly walk but you could tell he was having a great time.

As time went by a number of us got an antenna up for him, he got a FT-101 and I believe Budley helped him out there.  Dave W2VW donated that Gonset amp to the cause and, with a 75A2 from me we was off to the races.

So Tim had trouble with the bandswitch in the FT-101 and blew some tuner cleaner into it when it was on.  He was mortified at the resultign fire and charred ball of wire, but Frank and I thought it was funny as hell    He had trouble with the Gonset about the same time and we met at Slab's to fix all the stuff up.  Frank and I had a race to see who could finish his project first - me, rewiring the FT-101 and Frank, rewiring the Gonset.  I won - but then I had the easier project!

Even with the FT-101 barefoot Tim had a rockcrusher of a signal.  I vividly remember him 20 dB above everyone else during a breakin session when I was at my place in Western Maryland.  And that thing had AUDIO!  With the Gonset he was the channelmaster, fo' sho'.

The ant blew down a couple times, and one of those times my then 17-yo son helped me put it up.  He was pretty proud of that day, and immensely enjoyed Tim and Gloria's company.  They treated him as an adult instead of a kid.

I could go on and on - his homebrew transmitter, the wars with Johnny the Award-winning engineer, laughing so hard I was sore the next morning after a long session on the radio with Tim et.al., etc.  

Tim, the world is a far better place for us to have had the honor of your company.  I will miss you dearly.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Even with the FT-101 barefoot Tim had a rockcrusher of a signal.  I vividly remember him 20 dB above everyone else during a breakin session when I was at my place in Western Maryland.  And that thing had AUDIO!  

Gosh, isn't THAT the truth!! Initially I refused to believe Tim was running a barefoot FT-101 when I heard him up in VT. Granted, it wasn't a 40 over signal, but it was S9 +10 at times, and the audio was LOUD. Not distorted, not obnoxious, just all there and then some. He finally convinced me with some supporting evidence from others. I'm still amazed everytime I think about that signal.

The last time I heard the DeRB on the air was from VT a year or two ago when I was back up there for a couple weeks. I was staying with my folks and listening to an old Norelco tube radio next to the bed. Tim was in there talking with Buddly and some others, hard to say since it was just an old kitchen radio I'd added maybe 10 feet of wire to. As Tim unkeyed, I heard a loud signal from then WB3HUZ responding to Tim with "MonkeySwing MonkeySwing MonkeySwing...." to which Tim responded "Yeah man".

I don't recall precisely when I first met Tim, but I think it might have been at Rainchester/Rottenchester (Rochester) NH Hosstraders back in the 90s? I recall better seeing him in recent years with you Gloria, at Frank's post-Timonium parties and the Richmond Frostfest. I remember chuckling to myself since Tim was so soft spoken and articulate, thinking "Yeah, sure, but there's a wild man hiding in there!" when I remembered some of the on air antics as well as posts on here about things like flip top heads.

They say you only die when others forget you. If that's the case, Tim will live on for decades to come, as long as we do. I can't recall ever going to any AM gathering or event, hamfest or otherwise, where I didn't hear at least one Derb story. Steve and I were even cracking up over the weekend remembering some of them while working on the equipment here. From the slop bucket stories to the Black James Bond and sooooo many others. And as we so often find ourselves saying at such times, I sure wish we'd had more time to hang out together, or made better use of the time we did have. But then, who spends life dwelling on what could happen?

I hope the time you to have together is peaceful and enjoyable. If there's a radio heaven with endless hamfests and perfect on air conditions, keep the filaments warm for the rest of us, OM. We'll be along......

[k4kyv]

Gloria,

One thing I can say with certainty is that Tim is fortunate to have someone so loving to care for him in his moment of need.  I enjoyed your visit two summers ago when you and Tim drove half way down to meet John, WA5BXO from Texas at my place to transfer the transmitter and rack cabinets. That was a fun weekend.  The only thing I regret is that you couldn't stay longer, but I understood when you said you and Tim needed to get back on the road.

I worked Derb on 75 from the time he first got on the air, and met him in person when he paid me a visit during a trip to TN about 10 years ago to pick up a transmitter from a ham on the other side of Nashville. I nicknamed him my "official photographer", since he took photos of the station on his first visit, and recorded the video during the second.  The first photos are still posted in the Archives on this site, and the video has played on YouTube.

I had hoped the Derb would fully recover, but all along I was fearful this would eventually be the outcome. We are all in the same boat as Tim; no-one is guaranteed to-morrow, and for all it is just a matter of time. I just wish Tim had been given a little more time.

Be sure to pass my regards to Tim and let him know I am thinking of him.

Don k4kyv

[K1JJ]

Yes, the stories...

In his prime, Derb was a big dude - a monster of a man.  I remember the first time Dino/WA1KNX met him. Dino weighed maybe 260 pounds. He spotted Derb, ran up to him out of nowhere and did a hard belly bounce. Derb barely flinched as Dino bounced back and fell to the ground in a pile of meat.. Derb looked POed, wondering who WAS this crazy bastard?

Derb made us laugh with his story about carrying a DX-100 down his cellar stairs. He stumbled and he and the rig went crashing down.  Both survived to play another day.

Derb marched to his own beat. That's one thing I admired about him. You could see it in his rig tastes and especially his old Mercury car. We followed behind Derb once at Timonium as Derb swayed down the street in his 1962? Mercury. I think it needed shocks...  

He came up to visit at HossTraders one time in 1994? with HUZ, FJJ and JN. Tim stayed here as a guest. I gave him a 750TL tube for his museum. He loved those old relics and there was no better home for it. I still remember that tube sitting in the rear shelf of their car as they drove off.

Tim loved his old rigs, black krinkle and the old 30's ham lore. He was proud of his 1920/30's QSL collection. He read those old QST's over and over. The Derb was from another era and lived it.

Derb was a master vintage receiver restorer. He did this as a technician at a radio store for many years. He knew old radios well. 

On the air, Tim's impressions were legendary. His BJB, CB DXer and other schticks were so funny it made me hurt from laughing.  I remember some of his funny on-air encounters with Irb and others.

Derb, you've left a big, memorable  impression on the whirl.  Godspeed, my friend!

T

[w3jn]

Indeed, Derb was born 30 years too late.  I remember him being fascinated with some of those girly radio postcards from the late 20s (the one with a scantily clad lady posing in from of a 3-dialer TRF with a horn speaker).

How could I forget the Irb wars, and the Irb impressions.  As I recall Tim got along OK with Irb until Irb drowned his dog, then the gloves came off.  A recipe for lots of lulz 

His craftsmanship, even after his bout with cancer, was first rate.  There was no haywire or undressed wiring in his shack, even though it took him much longer to do it right.  He had the knack of seeing value in something long neglected.  He bought a ratty old homebrew VHF transmitter at the Man-asses hamfester for a couple bucks and took it all apart, lovingly cleaned it, and planned a new transmitter in its carcass.  It's a shame he never got to it, I know it would have been done perfectly.