Timothy Andrew Gilbert passed away after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease on August 22, at Regional Hospice in Danbury, while surrounded by his loving family and beloved service dog and faithful companion, Shadow. Tim was born on October 3, 1956, in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., to Dr Stanley Howard Gilbert, Jr, and Jacquelyn Ruth Keller Gilbert.

Tim is survived by his wife of 36 years, Elizabeth Estren Gilbert; his three adult children, Alanna, Joshua, and Samantha; his five siblings, Jonathan, Christian, Jeremy, Jennifer, and Melissa; and a large, extended family.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Jacquelyn and Stanley Gilbert; grandparents, Clarence and Nellie Keller; brother-in-law, Lawrence Fraser; aunts, Marjorie Keller Sitney and Sarah Ann Keller Fillipini; and cousin, John Frederick Wilkens.

Tim grew up in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., where he graduated from Yorktown High School in 1974. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1978 with a degree in philosophy and from Catholic University with a master’s degree in political philosophy.

Tim was an accomplished business director who spend his career working for Fortune 100 companies including SONY, IBM, and Reed Elsevier, as well as small, independent businesses where he held senior roles leading successful business development initiatives. Tim was also an entrepreneur who was recruited to be the CEO of a dot.com start up and who helped Liz start her gluten-free product company. He was a thoughtful leader who championed early prototypes of distance learning and video conferencing technology for Fortune 1000 companies in the New York Metro region.

Tim had many passions and had extremely creative and artistic abilities. He was a prolific artist until the end of his life, painting and sculpting beautiful and creative pieces of art. He played amazing blues guitar, which he took to another level and for which he was known and consistently sought after in high school, college, by lifelong friends, and work colleagues. At family gatherings, as a member of many bands and at friends’ parties, he could be found playing his guitar and entertaining guests for hours on end with blazing guitar licks and soulful blues progressions. He spent a year exploring music in Paris and traveling with Liz in Europe, where he made lifelong friends.

Tim loved sports. At Yorktown High School he was a talented and successful gymnast who, as the captain of the Yorktown High School gymnastics team, competed in the 1974 New York State Championships. He was an avid mountain climber. He climbed Denali and made successful summits of Mount Rainier and the Grand Tetons in North America and Cotopaxi and Chimborazo in South America. He said that he worked so that he could climb mountains; he considered his safe return from mountain climbing to his family as a successful climb. He loved to golf, to ski, and to run. He competed in numerous competitive races including triathlons, duathlons, and the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach.

Nature was Tim’s sanctuary. He grew up exploring the country, camping, and spending time at the beach with his family and continued to engage in these activities as an adult with his family and friends. He spent as much time as he could walking in the woods and hiking with his children, his siblings, his friends, and his dogs until the end of his life. Tim was also known as a dog whisperer, because every dog he met was comfortable with him. He cherished his pets, especially his devoted service dog, Shadow, and his adoring cat, Dumbledore.

Tim’s greatest passion was his family. He had a deep love and devotion for Liz and their children, his parents, his siblings, and his nieces and nephews. He had an indomitable spirit and overcame many challenges and obstacles in life, persevering and living life to his fullest. His passing is a deep, painful loss for his wife, his children, his family, and all who knew and loved Tim. We will miss you, Tim, and we will keep you alive in our memories, photos, videos, and your artwork.

Tim’s life will be celebrated in a small, private family memorial. A celebration of his life with friends and extended family will be announced in the near future.

In lieu of flowers, we invite you to donate to one of these organizations that meant so much to Tim and his family: the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, alzheimersresearchfoundation.com, or the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, appalachiantrail.org.