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Joe Timpson on a trip to Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Leland Morrill.

Joseph Timpson (8 February 1965 - 1 May 2007)

Joseph Michael Timpson was born February 8, 1965 in Denver, Colorado, and graduated from Graduate Skyline High School in 1983. Joe earned a degree in English from the University of Utah and completed an MBA at Brigham Young University. He was employed by the US Postal Service for almost 20 years in the Regional Remote Encoding Center. Joe enjoyed books, movies, politics and his cat Gertie. He was active in his church service activities.

Joe committed suicide on May 1, 2007—two months following the suicide of his co-worker and lesbian activist Kathy Worthington. He was 42 years old. He is survived by his parents, his brother, his brother-in-law, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Joe is buried at the Holladay Memorial Park in Holladay, Utah.

We invite Joseph's friends to send us emails with tributes that we be will posted permanently on this page.

Tribute by Leland P. Morrill

I was Joe Timpson's roommate at BYU, Provo on 1230 North 300 West during the 1987-88 school year. Back then BYU Security would interrogate anyone suspected or told to be homosexual or who confessed to their bishop so, it was best that you didn't. I tell you that because when we lived together I had a partner, Luis, and we had a straight couple, Simon and Yvonne, and Joe, in a three-bedroom apartment, BYU approved. Joe came out to me one day in the bathroom as I was doing my hair. I don't know if I was the first person Joe had come out to, but felt honored he trusted me. We lived together there for 1 year and then I moved to Salt Lake. He finished up his Master's Degree and then moved at some point to Salt Lake.

A few years later I saw Joe at the Deer Hunter. We caught up and then we continued to be friends. We would go out as a group, by then it was Luis and I and a whole gaggle of us going dancing. Joe wasn't much of a dancer, but once in a blue moon Luis would be able to pull Joe onto the dance floor and we'd all group-dance at The Sun tavern.

Around 1992, Luis and I had one of our famous "splits" and Joe was living midblock on 4th East between South Temple and 1st South. I took some vacation days to distress and walked to Joe's apartment. We decided to go get some takeout. We walked down the street and saw the Chateau Normandie had apartments for rent. I said, Hey Joe let's look there at apartments. He really didn't want to, but I dragged him. We ended up renting a 2-bedroom plus a maid's quarter on the top of that building. He was my roommate for about 2 years and then moved out. I helped him move over toward Redwood Road and then for some reason after a few years he just never called me back. By that time he was working at the U.S.P.S. Remote Encoding Center.

I found out about Joe's death because I was poking around the internet and found that Douglas Winkler had dedicated his dissertation "Lavender Sons of Zion: A History of Gay Men in Salt Lake City, 1950-79" to Joe Timpson and Kathy Worthington. I was also unaware Kathy had committed suicide, so double blow there.

Joe and I took a few vacations together. One Fourth of July, I think it was one of the Horstmanhoff brothers lived with his lover in Reno. I may have that wrong, but Joe got a call inviting him to their house & he asked me what I thought. Luis and I were living apart still, so I said, why not.

We went to Reno. I have 2 pictures from that, Joe by a pool and all of us as a group. Another vacation we took was to Los Angeles for a week in March 1993 with Duke (Duke was a friend of Cal), who also worked for the Post Office at the time. We stayed with Dukes's sister, saw Glen Close in "Sunset Boulevard" on March 23, 1994, at the old Shubert Theater. We went dancing and went out to every bar we could find in West Hollywood. We had a blast. Joe sure was a fun person to be around if you just let him be himself. In fact, I included a picture of him in a white t-shirt with the word "QUEER" on it with the rainbow colors. Well, Duke and I thought we'd get beat up being around him in a shirt like that but we didn't of course. It was just our unconfortable of being "so out" because we'd lived in Salt Lake and previously in Provo for so long.

I now reside in Los Angeles. To those who knew of Joe, I'm really sorry. I also read his obituary. I feel for his parents up in Olympus Cove, too. After I found out about Joe's suicide, I called and talked to his mother. She now knows of this Affirmation Suicide Memorial. Still sucks to know he's gone. He was such fun to debate with back then. I remember getting him all riled up and then he'd do that funny laugh and toss his head back. Well, that's all I really think is appropriate to share. I also informed others who have moved away from Salt Lake about his death.

Tribute by Shaun

Oh, Joe, I am so saddened to hear this news. I wish you had reached out to someone for help. I hope things are better where you are--I truly do.

God speed my friend... God speed.