We are a very small business, so our employees are very important to us. We are sad to report that past employee Tim Miller passed away in July from cancer. Tim first worked at Muirhead Canning in 2010 and started making deliveries in 2012. If you received home deliveries of Hood-Crest Fruit between 2012 and 2018, you probably met Tim, as he made almost half of the deliveries in those years. You will remember if Tim was your delivery man because of his smiling, warm personality. I always had to schedule a little more time for deliveries because Tim loved people. He was always excited to talk with the customers and would come back with great stories about the people he met.

Another big impression that Tim made was his energy. When Tim started working in 2010, we had him running the bin dumper, feeding fruit onto the line. This did not keep Tim busy enough, so he also took on the job of feeding empty cans off of the pallet and onto the conveyor. Somehow Tim found still more time between doing these two jobs to clean up the work bench and organize all of the tools. Tim very quickly became a favorite of the office staff. If they needed an order brought quickly out to a customer's car, Tim was happy to help.

Tim loved Hood-Crest Fruit and knew it was the best. When Tim found something he loved, he wanted everyone to know about it. This was brought home to me several years ago when I met some new customers from Walla Walla at the cannery. I asked them how they had found out about us, and they told me that our delivery driver, Tim, had stopped at their house to ask for directions. From that brief interaction, they drove the three hours to the cannery to buy several cases of this “amazing canned fruit” he was so excited about. Obviously, he connected with people, and they felt his excitement.

Tim made his last delivery trip several years ago after he had received his cancer diagnosis but before starting chemotherapy. For this last trip, he took his daughter with him—he was always bragging about his kids and what great people they are. He just wanted a bit more time with her and so arranged for her to travel with him.

I am grateful for Tim's energy and the excitement he left with me. I will continue to make Hood-Crest Fruit with Tim's enthusiasm in my heart.

Thank you Tim—for everything.