Brenda Timmons remembered after fatal crash

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By Ryan Fitzmaurice

Friends and family share memories of 21-year-old

Brenda Timmons, a Rocky Mountain High School graduate, died in a fatal motorcycle accident Thursday in Hawaii, leaving behind a grieving community back home. 

According to a report by the Honolulu Police Department, a 21-year-old female was the passenger of a 25-year-old male motorcyclist traveling to Kaneohe on the Likelike Highway at a high rate of speed. The female has been identified as Timmons by the Honolulu Medical Examiner Office. 

At about 10:30 p.m., as they exited out of the Wilson Tunnel, the 25-year-old male motorcyclist lost control, traveled onto the shoulder and collided with a concrete barrier, at which point both himself and Timmons were ejected.

Timmons, a current resident of Kaneohe, was pronounced dead on the scene. The male was found in critical condition and was transported to an area hospital. 

Both Timmons and the male were wearing helmets at the time of the collision. The Honolulu Police Department has identified the speed of travel as a contributing factor. It is unknown at this time if drugs or alcohol were contributing factors.

Brenda Timmons remembered

Timmons is remembered for her fierce energy, her devotion to family and friends and her passion for being a caregiver. 

“She’s such an amazing kid,” aunt Cherrece Jolley said. 

Timmons, the oldest of three siblings, was passionately devoted to her family back home, Jolley said.

“She was so feisty. She was one of those who said, ‘You don’t mess with me, and you don’t mess with my family,’” Jolley said. “It was zero to 100 with her, in everything she did. She was fast, quick, she was smart, she was beautiful. She was everything that anyone could ever want.”

Timmons had a passion for athletics and dirt biking, Jolley said. Especially talented in basketball, Timmons received both all-conference and all-state recognition playing for Rocky Mountain High School. 

Her heart, though, was in her career as a certified nursing assistant. Jolley said the passion started early after helping her family care for her ailing grandpa in high school. Looking after a loved one ignited a clarity within her about the career she wanted to pursue. 

“She was doing CNA work before she even graduated high school,” Jolley said. 

Her work as a CNA first began at New Horizons Care Center in 2017 before it took her to Hawaii. Timmons’ mother, Katherine (Jolley) Kuhl currently works at the care center.

“She liked to poke fun at her family and her extended family. By extended family, I mean everyone she cared for,” Jolley said. “She loved so deeply the care center workers she worked with. They were all family. It was amazing how she could pick someone up.”

Renae Miller said her passing has been felt at the New Horizons Care Center.

“We have some devastated staff,” Care Center Director Miller said. “Many were friends with her.”

Timmons moved west to work at the Hale Ho Aloha Nursing Home in Honolulu in 2020.

“We are shocked and hurting over (Brenda’s) sudden passing,” Beth Chiba, one of Brenda’s Hawaii coworkers, wrote to Timmons’ family. “‘Babam,’ as I fondly called her, was a truly beautiful human being. She’s one of the kindest, sweetest and sincerest friends and coworkers I have had.

“Everyone at work loved her. The residents adored her and won’t shave, won’t shower, won’t get weighed, if she’s not doing it. We all sorely miss her.”

Back home, feelings for Timmons are just as strong.

“Brenda was a great teammate, leader, person and friend,” her former basketball coach Eric Honeyman said. “She always lead by example and always had the greatest smile. She would always make others smile when they were down. She was the life of  the team with her personality. Brenda was not only a student athlete, but she was a daughter to my wife Kayla and I.

“She was one of
the best to ever put our jersey on.”

Jenny Christiansen, who coached Brenda in volleyball from middle school to high school, said Timmons brought the same energy to her teams.

“Brenda was a fierce competitor and a super loyal teammate. She loved being there for her friends and team and knew how to work hard and have fun at the same time,” Christiansen said. “She expected a lot of herself and worked hard and led by example. She had a fun personality and always brought a laugh to the group.”

As she was on the court, Timmons was a vibrant force in Rocky Mountain Middle/High School, principal Tim Winland recalls.

“I think she loved coming to school to be with her friends and teachers,” Winland said. “Brenda was very gritty and determined to be successful at whatever she put her mind to. Although Brenda was quiet by nature, once you got to know her, she was very witty and had a great personality.”

Most impacted by her loss is her family, who loved her dearly.

“My sister, Brenda, was kind and outgoing. She loved to hang out with family and friends. We were more friends than siblings,” Timmons’ 12-year-old sister Dannitey wrote to the Lovell Chronicle. “No matter how much we fought, we were back to being friends in about ten minutes. She loved to eat Cheesecake Factory and Jack In The Box. She also loved basketball and was very competitive. She was my favorite sibling and my was my only sister.”

Those looking to donate to the family are asked to write a check at the Bank of Lovell addressed to Katherine Kuhl, with “Brenda” written on the memo line.