0 Comments | Buffalo News, Dec 13, 2009 | by Nancy A. Fischer
William R. Timkey Jr. is glad he was recognized last weekend with the Lockport Police Department’s first Citizen of the Year Award.
He’s also glad to be alive.
Timkey, 59, was stabbed March 1 during a vicious attack. He was working a night shift for the car service company he owns, Timkey’s Limousine, when a fare plunged a knife into his abdomen at Woodlands Trailer Park.
This South Lockport volunteer firefighter and retired UPS driver of 30 years took the situation into his own hands, using his extensive emergency medical training to help save himself.
In Niagara County Court last month, Timkey addressed the judge and the defendant, Nicholas Cortese, who was sentenced to 18 years for the stabbing.
“Before, my life was on an upswing,” he said. “I was a successful volunteer fireman for 38 years, and I had saved three lives, but the fourth life I saved was my own. I could not have done it without my training and background. I saved Mr. Cortese from a murder conviction. I jumped out of a moving car to save my life, and I knew Rural/Metro was nearby, so I was in surgery in 12 minutes. Now I still have more surgeries, and I lost five months of my life. My business has suffered. Now there are simple jobs I can’t do. There are three organs that have been affected.”
Lockport Police Chief Lawrence M. Eggert said Timkey was the “perfect person” to receive the new Citizen of the Year Award.
“His name came to us pretty quickly,” Eggert said. “I’ve known him for 30 years, and he’s known for his volunteerism. He’s very unassuming and humble. When I got shot [while on duty in 2003], he arranged a huge fundraiser at the Palace [Theatre]. He also sent a limo for my first treatment at ECMC. He really goes out of his way for everybody.”
Mayor Michael Tucker on Dec. 4 issued a proclamation from the city thanking Timkey for his years of service. He also encouraged citizens to thank Timkey for being an integral part of the Lockport community, saving the lives of several citizens as a volunteer firefighter, being Kidspeace Volunteer of the Year and founding Monday night cruise nights.
Timkey has a large scar, a nine-inch incision where his colon was severed, and smaller incisions where his small intestines were affected. He said he will need more surgery in January. He still is in some pain, but he won’t slow down and is at the office every day. It’s a fact his wife of 39 years, Rosemarie, laments. But she knows his energy is part of the reason that Lockport has had a William Timkey Day not once but twice in her husband’s honor.
“As soon as he sees that someone is struggling,” she said, “he tries to find a way to help them out.”
>I see from your wall of awards that you have received a lot of recognition for helping people.
It’s nothing that I’ve planned, it’s just from respecting people. Little things make big things. It’s strange that when you do something for others, people feed off of it.
>You’ve made quite a name for yourself in Lockport through your work, but the Timkey name is well known in Lockport.
I was born and raised here. For well over a 100 years, there’s been Timkeys in Lockport. My father, William Sr., and uncle at one time owned the Cadillac dealership in this area, so the name was out there. I graduated from Lockport [High School], and my wife graduated from De Sales. I have three children: my daughter, Julie Marie, and my sons, William Robert III and Marshall Adam.
>You had two jobs for a long time.
I always wanted to be a businessman like my father. It looked like an interesting thing to do 28 years ago, and limousines kept evolving and became successful for me. Now the industry has changed a lot, and there’s a lot more companies out there, but it’s still good. I was one of three in Western New York. Now there’s 200. I also liked UPS. It was very rewarding, and I always had a high energy level, and that’s what they wanted. They were also very big on safety, which helped play into my fireman’s profession.
>You said you saved three lives while you were driving for UPS?
Each time I saved someone, it was when I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. In 1987, a car went into a ravine on Lower Mountain Road in Cambria. I was able to snap the window off and found a girl, and she was bleeding real bad
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