Tears of joy for Nafziger.
By JOAN RAMPERSAD (T&T Newsday).
Scores of family, friends and associates of the late Timothy Nafziger turned up at the Century Ballroom in the Members’ Pavilion of the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain yesterday for a memorial in celebration of his life.
Nafziger who was a businessman, sports agent and mentor to many athletes died Tuesday, March 9 at a Los Angeles, USA hospital after complications due to haemorrhagic ruptures in his brain.
His wife Glenn and children Natalie, Jeffrey and Matthew who were at his side at the time of his death, along with Nafziger’s sister Vicki were all present at the celebration that brought out tears of both joy and sorrow, as a number of attendees shared their own life experiences with Nafziger.
Several stories and anecdotes were used to remember him during the just over one-hour-long ceremony.
To Jerome Borde, Nafziger had an unusual name and was that sort of guy, and saw that world through a different lens. “He was a big picker and saw all possibilities in everything. He did anything in full throttle, he had a passion for life.
“His position was one of equality and fairness. His actions were about advancing people and providing opportunities for people to be as best as they could.
“People often sought guidance from him. He was very demanding, challenging, an ideas man, and one who wanted to extract the best out of you. He often gave stories, he was a most intriguing person.
“The spirit of Trinidad and his wife Glenn are what captured his heart and that is why he became a Trinidadian, even more Trinidadian than some Trinis themselves. He is one of our national heroes,” said Borde.
A video followed Borde’s contribution with images of Nafziger’s childhood, at home in Trinidad, his family, his adopted country, the beach and his sports involvement, all to the music of “Trini to D Bone”.
His daughter Natalie then joked after that her father would have counted the amount of people who turned out to the service if only to gauge his popularity.
She then said that for 30-plus Nafziger was her friend, financial advisor and taught her everything — some things she did not want to know about like football, cricket and politics.
“He talked a lot. Later in my life he was a friend and confidante and I will miss the biggest ‘know-it-all’ in my entire life,” she said.
Matthew his son said the most lasting impression on him of his dad was that he helped him become a better person. “He always gave me advice, some not even solicited, but he knew a lot. I was always impressed with the number of people’s lives he had touched.
“I will have a lot of memories of him. I’m thankful for the time we shared even though it was short, and all that we did together,” said Matthew.
But it was international footballer Dwight Yorke who brought tears to the eyes of many. He first told the gathering that retired star batsman Brian Lara was unable to make it back to Trinidad having been stuck coming from India given the BA strike, but nevertheless sent his condolences.
He then said: “This is a tough day for me. Tim was a dear friend and very close to my heart. I met him in 1988 and never looked back since. He was warm, welcoming, sincere and taught me a lot about life, and Glenn who I considered my mom.”
Yorke then choked with emotion and after brushing away tears from his eyes he continued, “I’m not very good at this,” but stated that the number of people turning up to pay their respects just showed how much they respected Nafziger.
He ended by struggling to say through his tears, “I will miss him. Any time I needed advice, he was always there for me.”
