Timothy J. Shriner

Timothy Joe Shriner died unexpectedly on Friday, February 27, 2026. He was born in Lafayette, Indiana on October 13, 1949, the second child of Thomas L. Shriner Sr. and Margaret R. (Kamstra) Shriner. Tim is survived by his wife of 49 years, Kathleen (Shively) Shriner and their daughters Melissa (Matt) Kubat of Delphi, Elizabeth (Eric) Zimmer of Shorewood, Wisconsin, and Rebecca (Kyle) Wedemeyer of West Lafayette. Grandchildren include Anna & Ben Kubat; Isaac, Mariah, Dominic, & Dessa Zimmer; and Noelle Wedemeyer. Tim’s surviving brothers are Thomas (Donna) Shriner, Jr., Shorewood, David Shriner, Delphi, Ronald (Linda) Shriner, Lafayette, and Patrick Shriner, New York, New York. Also surviving are many nephews, nieces, and cousins on both sides of the family with whom he maintained close relationships throughout his life. Passing before Tim were his parents, brother Dennis (Annette) Shriner, and sister Annalee Shriner.

Tim was educated at Longlois, St. Lawrence, and Sunnyside schools, graduating from Jefferson High School, Class of 1967. He earned a Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Social Science from Purdue in 1971. Following graduation Tim began a business career with National Homes Acceptance Corporation in Lafayette.Tim considered himself the luckiest man alive when he married Kathi at St. Mary Cathedral in Lafayette on November 26, 1976. The newlyweds moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas where Tim worked in mortgage banking.

Tim and his family returned to Lafayette, and by the 1980’s Tim owned and operated Tim Shriner Electric for a number of years before joining John Scheumann in founding Merit Realty. Beginning in the 1990s, he started a property management business for a number of neighborhoods in Greater Lafayette.

Tim was proud of his hometown and especially the North End neighborhood where he started life with his parents and his brothers and sister and where he and Kathi raised their girls. He learned and shared the history of our extended family roots there and the characters who made it a special place to grow up. He served for many years, including terms as president, on both the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission and the Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals. In 2018 Tim was honored by Mayor Roswarski with the Marquis de Lafayette Award for his service to the Lafayette community. He was a long-time member of Knights of Columbus Council 456 serving in club officer roles and was inducted into the Council’s patriotic order of the 4th Degree. Tim was a member of Elk’s Lodge 143 for many years and advanced through the officer chairs to serve as Exalted Ruler. He also enjoyed his time with brother members of the fraternity Beta Phi Sigma. He and Kathi are members of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Delphi.

Tim loved “The River” area on the Tippy from when he was a boy spending time there with his uncle, Joe Kamstra, and his many Graham cousins. Tim and Kathi acquired  property there, and for the last third of his life Tim greatly enjoyed developing The River property which became the center of his family. There has always been more work to do there than one person should attempt, but Tim wanted the challenge and preferred things done as he wished anyway. He loved nothing more than to be the chief planner and cook for the next Shriner family event at this place, and could often be found on a favorite stage, the barn’s kitchen, where he directed meal planning and led his family and visitors in conversation around the bar top. You might learn something about recipes or the finer points of meat marinating, but listeners could also count on experiencing Tim’s humor and learning about things that may not have crossed their minds before they came through the door.

Tim was a man with an intense curiosity that led him to follow diverse paths of interest. These included anything to do with business and finance, politics, property zoning, the workings of electricity, machines, motors and tools; land conservation, house remodeling and new home construction. He loved music and was a gifted baritone, belonging to a variety of musical groups throughout his life and thrilling crowds large and small with spontaneous solos. He also loved old movies (especially John Wayne Westerns and The Godfather movies) and old cars, and dogs and cats and birds as well as baseball (both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox) and Purdue sports. Each day he made lists of projects to complete that could be found on the bar top in his barn, and he enjoyed getting around the property on his tractor. Tim didn’t care much for coyotes or painting or for anyone beating him to a patch of mushrooms. He had a remarkable, detailed memory and embodied what it means to be a life-long learner. A proud descendant of a militia member who served in the Battle of Tippecanoe, Tim showed an early interest in the past that ranged widely from local to world history. He favored biographies and said, having enjoyed the first four volumes on the life of Lyndon Johnson by a favorite author, Robert Caro, how he was impatiently looking forward to the final yet to be published fifth volume.

Tim was a memorable person who will be dearly missed by old friends and new acquaintances made wherever he went. In recent years at The River this included the community of Americus, where he was known for leading spirited tavern conversations but also for the many unnamed charitable works he would do for people in need of assistance or for strangers who were surprised by his kindness at checkout lanes.

Visitation with family will take place at Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twyckenham Blvd. on Sunday March 8th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm p.m. Funeral Mass will be at St. Lawrence Church, 1916 Meharry St. on Monday March 9th beginning at 10:30 a.m., followed immediately by the burial at St. Boniface Cemetery. Those wishing to make a charitable gift in Tim’s name might consider Knights of Columbus Council 456, located at 218 S. 4th Street Lafayette, IN 47905.