Former Naperville Central athlete Tim Lavery with wife Kirsten.
Photo courtesy of Tim Lavery
Tim Lavery, a star baseball and football player who lived with a joy that outshone his brilliance on the playing field, died July 28 at age 45. The obituary did not specify a cause of death.
Lavery passed in his hometown of Breckenridge, Colorado, surrounded by family and friends, according to his obituary posted on the website of a Colorado funeral home. Lavery is survived by his parents, Kathleen and Kevin, sister, Kelly, and niece, Charlotte.
“It’s just so tragic and sad,” said Lavery’s baseball coach at Naperville Central, Bill Seiple. “Timmy was a prince, he really was. And way, way too soon to lose him. He was such a quality guy.”
Lavery starred as a two-way athlete at Naperville Central. He quarterbacked the Redhawks to the Class 6A final in 1995 and the baseball team won 68 games during his time as a pitcher from 1994-96.
“Just from an athletic standpoint, he’s one of the all-time great athletes to ever come through Naperville Central,” current football coach Mike Ulreich said. “Coming to our program in ’05, you know, almost a decade or more after Tim had left, that was a name I had heard very early on as a young coach, was Tim Lavery.”
After finishing at Naperville Central, Lavery started as a two-sport athlete at the University of Illinois. Lavery started five games in his freshman football season before deciding to focus on baseball.
Naperville Central graduate Tim Lavery once played in the Chicago Cubs organization.
Photo courtesy of Tim Lavery
The Chicago Cubs drafted Lavery in the 11th round of the 1999 draft.
The left-hander spent four seasons in the minor leagues with the Cubs and Pirates, amassing a 3.29 ERA in 85 appearances.
For those who surrounded Lavery during his time on the field, his actions away from the competition stood out the most.
“Timmy was so respected off the field,” Seiple said. “He was the best, he really was.”
“There was always a bit of a smile with Timmy,” he said. “He just enjoyed being there. He didn’t have to be the man, he just wanted to be there.”
In 2013 Lavery rejoined Naperville Central as a volunteer quarterbacks coach. His Redhawks won the Class 8A title that season, led by quarterback Jake Kolbe, an all-conference performer.
“Tim took to heart that mentor role for Jake and those younger quarterbacks as well,” Ulreich said. “So it was a lot of fun to finally meet Tim and get to coach with Tim.”
Lavery worked in the medical device industry following his athletic career. He specialized in complex spine, according to his obituary.
Kindness and selflessness radiated through Lavery everywhere he went.
Joe Bunge, Lavery’s football coach at Naperville Central, explained how Lavery, the star player and consensus state player of the year for that season, stuck around after postgame meetings to sweep up after his teammates.
“He was a great player, and you hear this all the time, but he was a better guy,” Bunge said. “He was a humble guy. Everybody loved him. He’s going to be missed.”
“He was a quarterback, but he wasn’t one of those hotshot quarterbacks,” he added. “I don’t think he even liked the spotlight. He liked fitting in with the guys. I can still see him smiling, you know?”
• Kevin Schmit contributed to this story.