Timothy Mountain,  Class of 2008

Submitted by James Formato 65 <jformato1@tampabay.rr.com> on 13/Feb/2012
74.243.1.196

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  Timothy Mountain was born on September 10, 1990 and left this earthly life on February 7, 2012. He was the son of Charlotte Mountain of Newburgh, NY and Mark Mountain of Peekskill, NY. He was born in Peekskill, NY and attended school in the Town of Greenburgh, NY. He was a 2008 graduate of Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, NY. Throughout his life, Timothy was an accomplished athlete. He traveled widely across the United States for track competitions as a member of the Newburgh Free Academy track team and the Newburgh Elite Track Club. He won many State and National titles. Timothy was a fine horseman who took lessons with the Garrison Pony Club for many years. Timothy was a fine student who received awards and accolades from Newburgh Free Academy including the 2008 Principal's Award. He had many goals, both immediate and long term. He loved his work as a chef at P.F. Chang's and aspired to become a professional chef and open his own restaurant. He also developed a strong interest in aviation and had worked towards a private pilot's license with the assistance of the Major General Irene Trowell-Harris, Chapter Tuskegee Airmen's Red Tail Youth Flying Program. At the time of his passing, Timothy lived in Albany, NY. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his brothers, Mark and Kristopher. He is also survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins. Friends may call Tuesday, February 14 at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 485 Mt. Airy Road, New Windsor, NY 12553. The funeral will follow at the church at 11 a.m. Interment will be in St. George's Cemetery, Newburgh, NY. Arrangements are by Andre F. Baker Funeral Home, 36 Main St., Ossining, NY 10562.

Submitted by Pauline Rute Hall 1952 Grammypgh@aol.com

   NEW WINDSOR — On Tuesday, the day of Timothy Mountain's funeral, track coach Malcolm Burks remembered the strange circumstances of their first meeting. Burks was looking to solve the mystery of the gym class sprinter. A colleague had mentioned the fast kid one day in 2007, assuming he was one of Burks' new stars.  Weird, Burks thought, in all of his years coaching Newburgh Free Academy and Newburgh Elite Track Club he'd learned a few things about high school runners, and few of them ran outside of practice. He quizzed his runners that day but none was the gym class sprinter. "Are you sure he's on the track team?" Burks asked his colleague. "I don't know, but if he's not, he should be," the colleague replied.  Burks waited until the kid's next gym class and staked out the track. He scanned the students walking in slow circles, and then he spotted him.  "This kid is just running around track, dripping sweat," Burks said.  Mountain's mother, Charlotte Mountain, has gained a small measure of fame around their City of Newburgh home as a ukulele player, and she encouraged her three boys to follow their interests, however eclectic. Mountain was into airplanes when he met Burks. He had joined a chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen's Red Youth Flying Program in 2006 at Stewart Air National Guard Base and spent hours in the flight simulator. He took horseback-riding lessons, practiced ballet and hip hop dance, learned the guitar and nurtured a love for heavy metal music. In Mountain, Burks found a runner to complete a 1,600-meter relay team that was twice the fastest in the nation. He also found a leader who looked him in the eye and never kept him up late with worry.  "He was almost like the nail that put everything together," Burks said. And then he was gone. Mountain was 21 years old when he died on Feb. 7. Charlotte Mountain said he collapsed on a sidewalk in Albany and coroners have yet to discover the cause of death, although they suspect it could be a rare genetic abnormality.  Mountain had followed his girlfriend to Albany, his mother said, and was pursuing another passion: cooking. He worked at P.F. Chang's and aspired to become a professional chef with his own restaurant. A crowd of about 100 people gathered for his funeral on Tuesday in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in New Windsor. There were retired airmen, metal music fans, runners, teachers, old co-workers — all pulled together by the many pieces of Mountain's life. They passed by his casket in a small room and hugged each other. Many of them meeting for the first time.  Charlotte Mountain closed the door for few minutes before the service was to begin. In the quiet, she played her son a song on her ukulele.