Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr
1-13-1982  to 11-19-1999
more pictures of Tim

Letter - from Tim's sister Letters - some of MANY heartfelt thoughts and prayers Letter - experience of his memorial service

The family is working to set up a scholarship fund, in his name, for out-of-state students. So far this is going through the United Methodist Church in Germantown, Tennessee. Donations currently will go through there. More details will come later. 

Services
    College Station -- 4 pm Sunday, Nov. 21, at A&M United Methodist Church
        Winter A's
        Service Covers
        No drapes or cords
    Memphis -- Saturday, Nov. 27, after Thanksgiving

Where do I begin? First of all, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!! Your emails, e-cards, prayers, and thoughts have kept me going since Thursday November 18th in dealing with this loss of my brother.
                On Thursday morning (11/18) I received a phone call at 5am from my brother. He said there had been an accident at Texas A&M and the bonfire and that Tim had been hurt and was carried to the hospital and that it did not look good.
                Thursday Tim underwent surgery to try and get a handle on the extent of Tim's injuries and what could be done. It was determined that he had a severely broken right arm, his left leg was severely crushed and damaged and needed to be amputated. He had severe testicular, bladder, and intestinal damage. His pelvis, simply put was basically pulverized. 
                In surgery, it was determined that the left leg would have to be amputated but he was so critical that he would not survive the operation, so that decision was put on hold. He had internal bleeding and the left leg was bleeding so severely that they could not get it to stop or slow down at all. From Thursday morning until Friday afternoon the hospital gave Tim over 100 units of blood.They decided that they would stop any more exploratory surgery until later.
                My Father and Stepmother flew from Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday. The doctors were certain they would not make it in time to see Tim alive. But, Tim did. Thursday evening, my brother Sean and I decided we wanted to fly out there but the only tickets were going to cost us $1500 because of the holiday. We knew there was no hope of us going to see Tim. 
                On Friday (11/19), continental Airlines was trying to get us on a flight that would be no cost to us. That fell through but the lady at Continental called Texas A&M and they told her the college would pay for our flights no matter what airline. Continental didn't have any more seats available but we ended up getting a flight from US Airways. Sean called me at work Friday at 12:00 noon and said to be at the airport at 1:30 pm.
                You can imagine how fast I was driving home, throwing clothes in a suitcase and rushing back to the airport. We arrived in Houston at 9pm. A pilot who owns his own small plane picked us up at the airport and flew us in his plane to College Station where Texas A&M is located. We arrived at St. Joseph's Hospital at 10pm and was inundated by news reporters. 
                Unfortunately, Tim had passed away at 8pm. The hospital did keep him in CCU until we could get there and say goodbye to him. 
                On Sunday (11/21), A&M Methodist Church in College Station had a Memorial Service for all 12 victims during their morning worship service. Tim went to this church so it was particularly difficult for the members to come to grips with this tragedy.
                We held a Memorial Service for Tim Sunday afternoon at 4pm at A&M Methodist Church. He was in the Corps of Cadets, Squadron 16, and his whole Corps Unit was there and sat together. We had 2 students contact us that played the bagpipes and pleaded with us to let them play Amazing Grace on the pipes. They said that was the least they could do for their friend. They played and it was beautiful. I was fine through the whole service until those beautiful bagpipes were played. Another Corps member played Taps during the service and there was not a dry eye in the congregation. 
                Sunday evening the Corps of Cadets held a ceremony in the Courtyard where the Corps Dormitories are located on the campus. The ceremony is called "Echo Taps" and it is only done when a current Corps Member passes away. The Bonfire Tragedy took away 8 Corps Members. We went to the ceremony and it was a moving experience.
                We talked to a Corps Member who was the first person to reach Tim. He broke down crying at me when he told me that he had to tell a family member what Tim had done. He said that when he reached Tim, he was under 3 logs. He tried to get the logs off Tim but they wouldn't budge. He was frantic because he couldn't get anyone's attention to help him and he knew Tim was in tremendous pain, despite the fact that Tim did not cry out. Instead, he said that Tim grabbed his arm and kept pointing at another student injured and told him to go help that person. He said he couldn't leave Tim, he kept trying and Tim kept telling him to stop helping him and help someone else. 
                We also had the pleasure of speaking to the medic who attended Tim. She said that Tim never cried out or complained about anything. She said that she was crying her eyes out for everyone she had seen either dead or injured and most especially for Tim because she knew that he was hurt beyond repair. She said that Tim grabbed her arm and started praying for her and all the rescue people. She was so stunned by his actions that it made her pause and think that Tim was someone special and was definitely a gift from God.
                We found out that Tim had been working on the top tier of the bonfire when it collapsed and that 3 logs had pinned him when he landed. Tim had been promoted that night to work on the top tier. The job, that Tim had up until Wednesday night, was replaced by another student who miraculously survived with a broken leg and arm. He came to the funeral and we were so happy to see that God's angels had protected him.
                On Monday (11/22), we flew back to Virginia and got back Monday night.
                I have received numerous emails, e-cards, prayers, etc. from so many people. I was deeply moved by everyone taking their time out to put my family in their prayers. I thank each of you for your support during this tragic time. I can't even begin to name but a big thank you goes to each of you. I could not have gotten through this without every one of you. 
                To all who have emailed me your prayers and words of consolation, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You dont know how much it truly means to me. My brother, Tim Kerlee, was the 12th victim of the Bonfire Tragedy. He fought hard to stay alive but he was so battered and in so much pain that he had to go on to the next level. He is now watching over all of us along with the other 11 victims. My heart goes out to all the families of the victims. My heart bleeds for you as my heart bleeds for my loss. May God and His peace find a way to your heart and comfort you in this very tragic accident. 
                I have never experienced the outpouring of love and support that TAMU had for us. I was deeply moved at the amount of love and support that people showed us, people whom I had never met. It was amazing and quite wonderful to have made new friends, even while dealing with such a traged y. I thank you again. I will never forget meeting such a wonderful group of people that touched my heart as the people at TAMU did. 
                God Bless each of you and may God walk with each of you and keep you in the palm of His hand. 

            Peace 
            Michele 

During Monday's memorial service at Aggie Park here in San Antonio, I learned that Tim Kerlee '03 was a member of Squadron 16. As a founding member of Falcon 16, this news only deepened my sorrow even further. Please forward my utmost condolance to Tim's Fish buddies and the entire outfit. 
                "...may the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

            Sincerely,
            Jorge H. Jaime '83
            jhjaime@hotmail.com  

I just found out last night that the 12th man to die was a Falcon. That brings extreme sadness to me upon the sorrow that I already feel. During our years there, we too lost one of our buddies, Wes Brock. We never realized the statement made during our FOW week would come true so soon. That statement by our CO, Chris Johnson was - "Look around you - to your right and to your left. These guys will be your best men at your wedding and the pall-bearers at your funeral." 
                Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. Also, I pray for the outfit chaplain that he would be able to point people in the direction of faith in Christ though this incident.

            Billy Dean '93
            billy_dean@mindspring.com 

                I'll apologize in advance for the grammar. The observations below are just that..observations. I'm sure I could have taken more time to "wordsmith" this but I just felt like I needed to share these thoughts.
                I'll count on you to forward this to any you feel would like to know about the memorial service for Falcon Freshman Timothy Kerlee. 
                As you are aware I did not know Tim or anyone in Falcon 16. It has been thirteen years since we were in boots together and although we all feel a special bond to our outfit, few of us actual know anyone who is an active member of Falcon 16.
                When I learned that one of the "Bonfire 12" was a Falcon, I felt compelled to be there. Even if I didn't know anyone. 
                Last night on the phone Matt Leonard, Tommy Walker, and myself made plans to meet in Aggieland. Below I will attempt to share my observations about the outfit, the memorial service and the environment in Aggieland.
                Tommy Walker and I met at Dorm 12 at around 3:00PM. The memorial service was scheduled for 4:00PM. When we arrived there was a single pair of Senior Boots, and a Campaign Cover on the bench outside the dorm. As the outfit filed out of the dorm it was very solemn, as you can imagine, Class A's. This was not a Corps activity this was strictly and Squadron 16 Function. The CO and XO were each only wearing one spur, I'm assuming the spurs on Tim Kerlee's boots were theirs. The outfit formed up and began the silent march to Northgate. Fish Kerlee's buddies carried his boots and campaign cover. A hand full of us walked behind the outfit across campus. 
                Through the quad, in front of Rudder and around the MSC we marched. 
                Everyone stopping what they were doing to pay their respects to this fallen Aggie that they did not know. Cadets coming back from parking their cars in the Fish lot "popped to" as the outfit marched by. Non Regs playing soccer and Frisbee on the drill field, stopped what they were doing and covered their hearts. I have never heard the campus so quiet.
                We marched across University Ave. Some Falcons, apparently injured at bonfire were limping as we marched. We arrived at A&M United Methodist church about 3:40. Other Falcons, too injured to march, were waiting at the church. Also at the church were Matt Leonard, Scott Herbold and his wife.
                The service was unbelievable! The church was packed. 4 Singing Cadets opened the service, a lone bag pipe played "Amazing Grace". 
                Stories of Tim left me feeling that I had really missed something by not knowing him personally. It was made clear that Tim Kerlee was a Christian and had been very active in his church growing up. He came from a strong family of believers and is with out a doubt in heaven with his savior today. His mother and father were a phenomenal witness and stayed after the memorial to personally speak with all who attended. Tim's mother spoke of how hard he had fought to stay alive even when his body was failing him. She commented that "....he wanted to be the 12th". She spoke of how she was suddenly awakened Friday morning, knowing in her spirit that something was not right.
                After the memorial we all went to Sully and found that the statue had been turned into a memorial of its own flowers and poems covered its' base. From Sully we went to the flag pole in front of the Academic Building and to the Silver Taps memorial. These too were covered with flowers and notes. We then went to the flag pole in front of the Administration Bldg.. The sight was unbelievable. Notes, poems, painted bonfire pots, pictures of the "Bonfire 12", candles burning, etc. The most touching tribute and a tribute only possible in Aggiland was at the base of the flag pole. A note which read "you never got to wear an Aggie ring so here is mine to wear". On top of this note were 28 Aggie Rings! One ring was attached to the band of a Buck Wierus (sp?) Spirit Award watch. Students were coming and going silently paying their respects. Where else but in Aggieland could someone leave 28 Gold Rings knowing that they would be safe?
                As if this wasn't enough, we walked to the Bonfire site were orange plastic fencing created a perimeter at least 200-300 yards from where center pole had been. Inside the perimeter was all the logs neatly stacked. Bonfire is completely disassembled. There was another fence around where the stack had been. They have secured the area for investigation purposes.
                The outer most fence is covered with flowers, notes, outfit T-shirts, poems and bible versus. We walked the entire perimeter, periodically stopping to read a note or poem. Students on their knees, crying and praying. The heart of Aggiland is broken and the pain is truly agonizing.
                We made our way around the perimeter and found a smaller "memorial". 
                A lone log (obviously a bonfire log) was covered with flowers and notes. 12 candles burned. As I looked down, I saw the familiar black and gold of a Falcon 16 Outfit T-shirt. The shirt was signed by various members of Falcon 16. There was Tim Kerlee's Pot, and a sign in book for all Falcons to sign. I noticed that Stuart Rominger had signed in although we did not see him. Then Matt Leonard pointed out the "Fish Rock" the same rock that we had carried as freshman during March to the Brazos. It has not been painted since we painted it as Fish. Every class since 1986 is represented on the rock.
                The very heart of Aggieland is broken.

            Regards, 
            Jack Templin '86
            jdtsdt@pdq.net