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Skip Wathen

August 26, 1947 - July 2, 2010

 

Skip Wathen died peacefully at home with his family on July 2, 2010 after fighting an 11 month battler with cancer. Skip was our website administrator and one of the founding fathers of the TiffinRVNetwork. Skip was born in Washington, DC on August 26, 1947 but has been a resident of central Florida since 1977. In April 2007 Skip retired from the Orange County Fire Department as a Leutenant after 30 years of service. Skip is survived by his wife, Marcy, five sons, two daughters, nine grandsons, and one granddaughter.

Skip, known as Backdraft on the TiffinRVNetwork, has set the vision for this website and was the driving force to grow the TRVN to the successful network that it is today. His tireless efforts helped the TiffinRVNetwork to be the Gold Standard of user product websites and the number one website in the RV community. While Skip will no longer be with us, the vision and policies he has set in place will ensure that the TiffinRVnetwork will continue to grow and flourish in the future.

Here's just a few of the many comments given by fellow TRVN members:

I want to thank Skip and Marcy for making every morning --a morning I wake up to friends---TRVN friends--makes my morning coffee very enjoyable!

Chris and I have never meet Skip and Marcy but they have made like we have know them from the 1st time that we joined this GREAT site and as said before all our prayers are with them and our dear Loed is watching over them. God Bless.

Skip and Marcy toil daily behind the scenes making our forum great, allowing dummies like me to access the collective wisdom and experience of the hundreds of RVers who visit here each day. This knowledge has been literally priceless for Trish and me--it has saved us from costly mistakes and wrong purchases, and it has guided us as we've had to make decisions and choices regarding our FRED.

Although I haven't meet many of the members face to face, I do feel a friendship to many. This site has been a godsend and I have learned so much from so many. Thank you Skip for setting up a great forum.

This site and the friends that come with it are such a wonderful thing and we all appreciate the work you have done and the guidance you have offered.

If it wasn't for this forum, I'm not sure we would be brave enough to buy another MH someday. The knowledge we have gained is amazing. Having the vision and perseverance to build this network is truly a remarkable accomplishment. I can't think of any other person in our lives who has done anything close to this. I've enjoyed watching TRVN grow and appreciate being a part of the community and especially thankful that you supported new members who find their way here, yet have significant problems. They needed a voice and while their problems were alarming to some owners who can't imagine such problems happen, you supported their need of this community. And we all learned what can happen when we let the information, not our emotions drive the process. So thank you Skip & Marcy for keeping us united. For keeping this place informative and a place we can count on for answers and support and of course, the camaraderie. We will forever be grateful to you both.

You've done far more for us than just create this wonderful forum. You've made us your friends and, through this forum, you've given us an all new means to be friends with so many people of so varied cultures, geographic, and ethnic backgrounds and we can never repay you for that.

Just want you to know Skip, how fortunate we have been to know you. From the first time we met, you all have always treated us as friends and not just an acquaintance. Thank-you also for this great forum.

All of our lives are pretty much a blip on the scale of time, and I’ve come to believe the number of years they span is perhaps the least significant measure. Of much greater meaning are things like friends made, lives touched, assistance offered, services rendered, and unselfish devotion to causes and undertakings greater than ourselves. By those measures, Skip has every reason to stand tall and proud.

Marcy--you and Skip have taught us so much on this forum, but the most valuable thing I have learned from both of you is how to live. Your examples of strength and courage and living life to the fullest, even when the times get tough-- and gracefully sharing it with all of us are the lessons for all of us to live by.

Skip will be remembered by so many friends that he has made on TRVN, and as the driving force to make it what it is today. He spearheaded the information network that we have today for so many Tiffin owners, and those that would like to be Tiffin owners.

Skip was a great friend to countless people. We also know that he was a hero and lifesaver to many people in his service with the fire department. Skip's life was about service. Skip's death is about dignity, courage, and strength. Tiziana and I met Skip shortly after he was diagnosed. You wouldn't know that he was suffering from cancer in Tellico Plains and he damn sure wasn't going to whine about it. Dignity. What a terrific time it was. Then the Spring Rally in Gulf Shores. I will admit that I was shocked as how the cancer had beaten him to a pulp. Well, here again, no whining, always smiling, and well, we were more concerned about Skip than Skip was about himself. Dignity, courage, strength. Skip, in the wake of your death, you left a huge pair of shoes to fill and a legacy that will live for a very long time. I believe I share every single persons' feelings when I say, "We salute you, Skip."

Skip will be missed and remembered by many. Some wise person once said that we should “give more in life than death can take away”. Skip accomplished that as a fireman/paramedic and again as the founder of one of the most successful networks in industry today. Skip truly gave more in life than death can take away.

 
Skip, We will forever miss you.

 

Absolutely No Affiliation exists between this group and Tiffin Motor Homes Inc. or Allegro Club. This website neither endorses or discourages the use or purchase of a Tiffin product.
 
All references, suggestions, comments, etc. contained herein are the opinions/experiences of the posters and not those of Tiffin Motor Homes Inc, Allegro Club or the website administrators.
 

 

 



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