FanPost

UPDATED: Please keep staff writer Tim Cantu and his family in your thoughts

Photo courtesy of Tim's alma mater Thomas Aquinas College

Update, 11/9/21: The LL staff found out this morning about the loss of our dear friend and staff writer Tim Cantu.

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To say our staff is devastated by this news would be a massive understatement. Tim faced cancer courageously and with such grace and unfailing humor in spite of such darkness. We should all hope on our best days to be as brave and true as Tim. We should all strive to enjoy what we are given and appreciate life as much as Tim did.

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Lookout Landing is a community and we want to look out for each other here. Please talk in the comments about your feelings, about Tim, about grief, or about whatever reflections come up. We're here for you and we're here for each other. We'll share any further updates that his family chooses to pass on.

Tim, we love you. We will miss your presence. But, we will never, ever forget you.

#TeamTimForever

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The original FanPost from 9/2/21:

For those of you who don't know, our beloved staff member Tim is going through a tough time right now. He had surgery a while back to remove a cancerous tumor from his tongue; unfortunately, the cancer returned, spreading quickly and aggressively, and he's now undergoing chemotherapy. Since beginning chemo, Tim has had a couple of setbacks and has been hospitalized twice, most recently on Wednesday night with a blood clot issue in his leg. Tim has had a bright and hopeful outlook on his condition since he was diagnosed back in March, but these complications are significant.

Please keep Tim, his wife Marie, and his children Lena (age 9), Kristina (7), Isabelle (5), Adrian (3), and Charlie (9 months) in your thoughts. Tim is a person of deep faith (Catholicism), and if you're someone who prays, he has requested the prayer to Blessed Carlo Acutis, which you can find here or attached in the image below. Additionally, if you have enjoyed Tim's presence at LL--which dates back to August of 2013!--please drop a comment and let him know he's in your thoughts and/or prayers. If you have Instagram, you can follow Tim there (tdcantu) for occasional updates and prayer requests.

Tim is, simply put, one of the nicest people we at LL have ever had the good fortune to know. Even as he has dealt with the difficult and often isolating experience of going through cancer treatment during a pandemic, his focus remains on reflecting light and goodness into the world. He continues to pray for and ask for prayers for those going through a similar situation who lack the kind of support system he has. Tim is a model of kindness and compassion who has centered his both his life and his family's lives around being kind, helping others, and doing good in the world, and we simply could not love him any more dearly.

#TeamTim

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