Brent Timms tributes flow as family, friends mourn popular dad

Family and friends are mourning the loss of prominent schoolteacher and Queensland country rugby union life member Brent Timms after his battle with cancer.

Former Noosa Dolphins and Queensland Country rugby union coach Brent Timms.

The Sunshine Coast and wider Queensland sporting community has paid tribute to former teacher and rugby union coach Brent Timms following his 15 year battle with cancer.

Mr Timms, who died on January 28 at the age of 62, had been involved in rugby union through the Noosa Dolphins and the wider Queensland Country community for more than 30 years and was inducted as a Queensland Country Rugby Union life member in 2022.

Born in New Zealand, he was married to his wife Sharon for 30 years and the pair shared a son Zak and two step children Aaron and Emma.

The pair moved from New Zealand to Brisbane and then to Peregian Beach in 1993 when Mr Timms became a teacher at Matthew Flinders Anglican College in Buderim.

“He was just a workaholic and a coachaholic, the doctors were always telling him to pull back but he just didn’t know how to,” his wife Sharon said.

“He’s been sick for 15 years fighting cancer and has been in and out of hospital with a number of different illnesses so he retired in 2020 just because he became too sick.

“His illness limited him, he had to give away a lot of his loves which was teaching, rugby, rugby and rugby so he was home a lot where he read and watched more rugby.”

Sharon, Zak and Brent Timms.

Mrs Timms said if he wasn’t coaching A-grade or Queensland Country he was coaching juniors or schoolboys or women’s teams.

She said he was a patriotic All Blacks and Crusaders supporter and adored the game like no one else.

“He was a wonderful community man and a fiercely loyal friend,” she said.

“He obviously loved us but he absolutely adored his rugby family to the point he told us we ranked in second place.

“All the books were rugby, the TV screen was always rugby, he’s got so many different jerseys, the car was always full of balls and training cones, so his world really was rugby.

“He was so well respected and we’ve been inundated with amazing messages and phone calls which has been lovely.”

Noosa Dolphins legends Tony Harmer, Mick Phelan, Coach Stewart Beakey, Rohan Ramsden, Chris Gray, Mick Coghlin, Digger Munro and Brent Timms pictured in 2005. Picture: Geoff Potter.

Former Noosa Dolphins head coach Michael ‘Roxy’ Phelan said his ability to connect with players was unmatched.

“He always put the kids and the players first, whether that was with the younger adults or the juniors or the schoolboys‘ sides he could connect with them really well,” he said.

“I’m yet to meet anyone that was as enthusiastic as Timmsy was about his rugby and how passionate he was in making sure the boys had good coaching but that they also grew up as good people.”

A celebration of life for Mr Timms will be held at the Noosa Rugby Union Club on Friday, February 10.

Originally published as Brent Timms tributes flow as family, friends mourn popular dad