Tim was born in San Francisco and grew up in Marin County. He graduated from Sonoma State University in 1978 with a BA Degree in Liberal Studies and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. After teaching for five years he was hired by Clos Du Bois Winery in Healdsburg for a summer job to work in their tasting room. It became a full time job when he was hired as the Tasting Room Manager at the end of the summer and began a marketing and sales career in the wine industry, where he eventually became a Brand Director and Marketing Manager for a number of Sonoma and Napa County wineries, as well as starting his own brand, Shippey Vineyards, producing Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from grapes grown on a family vineyard in Dry Creek Valley. ,

Tim met his wife Debi at Sonoma State and they were married after graduation, and in 1985 they moved to Healdsburg where they raised their daughter Ashley and son Zachary. Tim served for a number of years on the Healdsburg Planning Commission and Chamber of Commerce Marketing Committee. Active in theater throughout his school years, he was also a founding director of Healdsburg’s Raven Players, where he has performed in numerous dramas, comedies, and musical productions.

A “cradle Episcopalian”, Tim was baptized and confirmed 12 years later at the Church of the Advent of Christ the King in San Francisco. He was a member St. Paul’s Church in Healdsburg for many years, where he sang in the choir, served on the vestry and was a longtime volunteer at the church’s Shower Ministry. He began attending Good Shepard Church in 2021 where he feels happy and blessed to be part of such a loving and caring spiritual family where all are truly welcome.