Here's the story of the funeral...
Soldier laid to rest amid tears, honors
By Michael Pitman
Cox News Service
CINCINNATI — Friends and family didn’t say “good-bye” to Fairfield’s Pfc. Tim Hines when he was laid to rest in Spring Grove Cemetery Friday, but rather, “until we meet again,” the Rev. Marlin King said.
Hines received full military honors at his burial, including a 21-gun salute. His wife, Katy, and parents Tim Hines Sr. and Diana Hines received American flags. His wife received the flag that draped the coffin.
At the end of the internment ceremony, doves were released, symbolizing Hines’ ascension to heaven.
Hines, 21, was wounded on Father’s Day when his three-vehicle convoy was hit by a roadside bomb along a Baghdad highway. He was one of two injured; the only one with life-threatening injuries.
Hines’ right leg had been amputated. He had undergone 30 hours of surgery and received 300 pints of blood during his month-long recovery attempt. He died July 14 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.
Hines is survived by numerous family members, including his parents and in-laws; his wife Katy, who is due Aug. 6 to deliver son Noah; and 2-year-old daughter Lily.
At the funeral service, which had 420 mourners at Vineyard Community Church in Springdale, Hines was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Good Conduct Medal. His wife accepted the medals.
Katy Hines, fighting tears, briefly spoke to supporters at the church.
“Tim is the absolute love of my life,” she said. “Looking over pictures over my entire life, there is not one where he wasn’t smiling or laughing.”
The last words Tim Hines said to his wife were, “Help me.”
Katy Hines had asked, “Help you with what, sweetheart? Do you want me to stay?”
He nodded yes, then she kissed his lips and stroked his hair as he fell asleep.
“He fought hard for his country and family, and for his life,” Katy Hines said. “As hard as it is to accept he is in the loving arms of God, I can’t wait till I’m beside him once again.”
Jenni McGhghy, Tim Hines’ twin sister, could barely hold back tears.
“Tim is and will always be a special part of my life,” McGhghy said. “I will miss everything about him, especially the way he always looked out for me. Tim was a great brother, and most of all, he was a great friend.”
Jim Wessel recalls that he placed his future son-in-law under immediate suspicion when they met five years ago.
“It was very obvious to me he was very smitten with my daughter, and that made him public enemy number one in my book,” Wessel said.
However, over the years, Wessel grew to love Hines like a son and they shared many moments. Wessel now wears a white band around his wrist that reads, “Impact a Hero.” It is from Impact Player Partners, which supports those wounded in war and their family members.
“I wear a band that says, ‘Impact a Hero,’” Wessel said, “but I want to create a new band that says ‘A hero impacted me.’”
Donations to the Timothy Hines Fund for the family can be made at any Fifth-Third Bank location.
