Timothy "Tim" Karafa

Tim Karafa loved fishing, camping, and playing practical jokes. Outgoing and friendly, spontaneous and enthusiastic, Tim was a workaholic who held many different jobs throughout his life. Despite his workplace dedication, however, Tim always made time for the most important things in his life: his wife, children, and grandchildren. On January 15, 1942, Joseph and Dorothy Karafa became the proud parents of a son whom they named Timothy Richard. Tim, as he was known by, grew up with two brothers and three sisters: Thomas, Billy Joe, Nancy, Janet, and Kathy. The Karafa family lived in Muskegon, Michigan, where Tim developed a love for nature. As a child, for example, he enjoyed nothing more than fishing and swimming in the local Muskegon River. When Tim was a teenager, he served his community by volunteering for the Muskegon Fire Department. In order to be active as a fireman, Tim had to stretch the facts a little when he was sixteen, he told the Fire Chief that he was already eighteen. He was none the worse for this early work, however, and volunteered there for four years. In the meantime, Tim was proud to graduate from Reeths-Puffer High School. At the age of nineteen, Tims mother introduced him to someone who would become a very important part of his life. Her name was Bonnie Wohlfard, and she worked with Tims mother at Federals Department Store. To make a long story short, Dorothy Karafa found a pretext for Tim to visit Bonnies department, and he fell in love at first sight. Bonnie claims that this was not the case for her, but Tim eventually won her over and they were married within a year from their first date, on August 25, 1962. Soon after the marriage, Bonnie decided she wanted to have a baby. Tim said that they couldnt afford to have a child until after the car was paid for. So, Bonnie saw to it that the car was paid for in full, and then immediately became pregnant. She was lucky enough not to experience morning sickness, but this was not the case for poor Tim every morning he would have sympathy sickness and throw up at work. Their child was born on January 20, 1964, a beautiful daughter whom they named Lynnette. Three years later, Tim and Bonnie were blessed with the birth of a second daughter, Lisa. Tim was a wonderful father and loved being around his daughters. He understood them very well in fact, they claimed that he was a mind reader. He always seemed to know what they were up to or what was bothering them. One day, Tim surprised his family by bringing home a Shetland pony. The first thing he did was to take it into the kitchen he wanted to know what a horse would look like trying to walk on linoleum! The girls remember that it looked a lot like someone trying to ice skate for the first time. Tim supported his family with an unusually high number of jobs throughout the years. Although he was an effective and competent employee, Tim had bad luck with picking companies that soon went out of business. His jobs included work at the Emil Smith Mink Ranch, Spartans Department Store, Mendendorps Auto Supply Store, the Royal Crown Distributing Company, Van Kams Trailer Sales, Wayside Mobile Homes, Reeths-Puffer Schools, Erxlebens Construction Company, Polk Road Lumber, Wolahans, and Fitzpatrick Electric. He kept a positive attitude throughout, however, and was always popular with his bosses and fellow employees. In fact, one boss took Tim and Bonnie out for dinner as a reward for being the first employee to last more than one year. In his free time, Tim loved to take the family camping in the RV trailer he purchased while working for Van Kams. Some of their favorite destinations were to the Mackinaw Bridge and Ludington State Park, both in Michigan. On one memorable occasion, his campsite neighbors played an elaborate joke on Tim and Bonnie. Tim would always jokingly tell people that Bonnies always happy at Christmas, since its the one time of the year that she has sex: thats her big gift. So, one evening in July Bonnie and Tim arrived at their campsite to find it decorated with Christmas decorations and lights the neighbors said they felt sorry for Bonnie! Tim also liked fishing and golfing, activities that allowed him to be outside enjoying the fresh air. When Tim was fifty-five years old, he suffered a massive stroke while working at Fitzpatrick Electric, thus ending his working career. Although this was difficult for Tim, a confirmed workaholic, it did allow him to spend more time with his children and grandchildren. He had two wonderful grandchildren, one grand-dog, and one grand-cat, and he lived for all of them. He was very proud of the fact that all his children a grandchild graduated from Reeths- Puffer High School three generations of achievement! Tim also acquired a Chihuahua named Pocono around this time, who became one of his best friends. She rode everywhere with him on his electric cart, and could always tell when he was feeling ill. After his stroke, Tim had to go through many surgeries. He didnt allow this to slow him down, however, and remained socially active. For example, he attended Day Break Adult Day Care Center and was a greeter at Daniels Hairstyling Academy. He was a big hit there and flirted with all the ladies. He also served on the Secretariat Board of DeColores Encristo, and attended the monthly mens breakfast club at his church. His family was proud of Tims commitment to all these activities, especially since he suffered from short-term memory loss. Tim was a fun-loving, spontaneous and caring man, who made the most of lifes opportunities.Tim enjoyed collecting eagles and proudly flew the American flag. He will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by his many friends and beloved family members. Timothy Richard Karafa died on July 14, 2007, at the age of sixty-five. His family includes his wife of forty-four years, Bonnie; two daughters, Lynnette Karafa and Lisa Karafa; two grandchildren, Rebecca and Chris Devowe; a grand-dog, Kristine; a grand-cat, Butterbuns; three sisters, Nancy (Gary) Bailey of Muskegon, Janet Larson of Alanson, MI, and Kathy Curtis of Muskegon; a brother, Thomas (Shirley) Karafa of Muskegon; and a pet dog, Pocono. He was preceded in death by his grandson Phillip J. Devowe, Jr.and brother and sister-in-law, Billy Joe and Marie Karafa. A service will be held on Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at 4:00 p.m. at the Fruitland Evangelical Covenant Church with Rev. Brian Kyle officiating. Interment will be at Mona View Cemetery. Friends are invited to join the family for visitation on Monday, July 16, from 6-8 p.m. at the Clock Life Story Funeral Home Muskegon, as well as one hour prior to the service at Fruitland Covenant Church. Memorial donations may be made to Hackley VNS Hospice House or the Fruitland Covenant Church Memorial Fund. Please visit Tims personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com to leave a memory or to sign the online guest book.