Timothy E. 'Tim' Laska

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Laska, Timothy E. "Tim" On November 29, 2021, Timothy (Tim) Laska, son, brother, uncle, and friend passed away surrounded by family and friends after a valiant battle against pancreatic cancer at the age of 57 years. Tim was born on St. Patrick's day, March 17th, 1964 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tim made an enduring impression on everyone he met and we feel his loss deeply, but are reminded that the candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long, and Tim burned very, very brightly during his time with us.

From an early age, Tim loved to participate and play in competitive sports. He played t-ball, baseball, soccer, and hockey throughout his elementary and high school years. In college, he continued to play in recreational leagues in both hockey and soccer.

Tim graduated from Washburn High School in Minneapolis in 1982. He went on to receive his Bachelors of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1986 and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemical Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1991. He was a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and Tau Beta Pi.

Tim spent much of his professional career at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, as a company expert in Process Development and Control, performing complex modeling of manufacturing processes and solving some of the company's hardest process development problems. In 2012, he moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he lived for 4 years, holding a position with Sundrop Fuels, Inc as Director of Modeling. The consummate scientist and inventor, Tim held several patents under his name. He returned to Cincinnati in 2016 where he focused on building his own company, A Priori, Ltd (est 2010) and used his expertise to help many former companies and colleagues as an independent consultant. He was broadly acknowledged as a brilliant problem solver in his professional career.

Tim's family was very proud of what he accomplished in his professional career. However, in private life, he is fondly remembered as being "the smartest man in the room" and for hilarious commentary which ranged from slapstick to highbrow and everything in between. His nephews and nieces knew he could be relied on for help with math or chemistry homework. He will always be deeply admired for the courageous battle he waged on his deadly disease.

Tim was an avid bicyclist, putting in hundreds of miles a week on bike paths around the country, especially Cincinnati, Boulder/Denver, and Minneapolis. Even chemo treatments couldn't stop him from cycling up to 170 miles per week, much to the amazement of his healthcare team. For over 20 years, he was the lynchpin of a weekly Pub Quiz trivia group, which continued throughout the pandemic, and no one knew more about chemistry, Led Zeppelin, or classic movie lines. Every week he brought hilarious joy and a deep thirst for Guinness, the Guinness being funded by a regular monthly poker game.

Tim is survived by his mother and father, Tom and Barb Laska; his siblings, Judy (Tom) Muehlbauer, Kathy (Ron) Rauchle, Steve (Sue) Laska, Jenny (Mike) Kittock, Nick (Heather) Laska; his nieces, Amanda (Zach) Roquet, Christy (Jesus) Martinez, Sarah Laska, Nicole (Chris) Spurrier, Kelly Laska, Sophia Rauchle, Rachel Muehlbauer, Emily Laska, and Avery Laska; bonus "niece", Beth Laska; his nephews, Thomas Laska, Ronnie Rauchle, Luke Kittock, Joey Kittock, Jonathan Muehlbauer, Reid Laska; great-nieces, Serenity Roquet, Francesca Martinez, and Isabelle Spurrier; great-nephews, Micah Laska, Uriel Laska, Anthony Roquet, Andrew Roquet; and a host of many friends and relatives.

A Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 9th from 4-7 p.m., at Gill Brothers Funeral Home, 5801 Lyndale Ave. So., Minneapolis, and 1 hour prior to mass at church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in memory of Tim on Friday, December 10th at 11 a.m., at Annunciation Catholic Church, 509 W. 54th St., Minneapolis, with Fr. Bill Deziel presiding. Memorial donations in memory of Tim may be made to St. Baldrick's Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research.

GILLBROTHERS.com MINNEAPOLIS, MN 612-861-6088

Published on December 5, 2021