SOUTH PORTLAND – Timothy George Bathras, 41, passed away while holding hands with his beloved wife and daughter in the presence of friends on Dec. 15, 2023, after a transformative yet arduous experience with metastatic rectal cancer. He died at the Gosnell Hospice House in Scarborough, where he received excellent and loving care in his final days.

Born in Portland on Feb. 13, 1982, Tim grew up in South Portland and was a fourth-generation graduate of South Portland High School. In high school he ran his own computer consulting business, played trombone in the marching band and jazz ensemble, and loved to drive around and listen to music with friends in his “SWEET” Volvo.

After some time at both University of Southern Maine and Southern Maine Community College (SMCC), he worked in the information technology department at Bowdoin College, then at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), and ultimately ended up spending 15 years as a Systems Engineer at Bottomline Technologies, with only a brief hiatus to join the family experiment of running the second iteration of Bathras Market, the beloved neighborhood store that his grandparents had run for decades.

Tim married “his person” Kate on Oct. 7, 2006. They had met in kindergarten (he had vivid memories of being curious about her even then), were friends in high school, and began dating in college. They were partners in life for over 20 years, had a lot of great times together, and helped each other grow in countless ways during that time.

Tim’s favorite memories from childhood included listening to his mom sing him to sleep, riding his bike around the SMCC campus where his dad and grandfather worked, smelling bags of shredded coconut in his grandparents’ market, going to the beach with his aunt and uncle, begging for new toys only to dismantle them and engineer new creations from the parts, traveling to Florida, Canada and Greece, learning all about computers from his uncle, and tuna fishing on his dad’s lobster boat.

Tim was known for his warmth and kindness, bad dad jokes, and an obsession with high-end audio gear. He loved music of all genres, and experienced much joy playing bass trombone in the Casco Bay Wind Symphony and other groups. He loved being a father to Norah, with whom he enjoyed just hanging out, playing Minecraft, going to Bull Moose to look at records, and doing projects together. He was fascinated by watching her grow, and he loved seeing her express herself and cultivate her own relationships and interests.

Tim is remembered by friends from all seasons of his life as having been generous, thoughtful, and good humored (albeit a bit curmudgeonly at times). He respected people, gave them the benefit of the doubt, and often looked for ways to lighten someone’s load or brighten their day (all the better if it could be done by setting them up with an awesome sound system). Ever an introvert, he preferred more intimate interactions to large group settings, and truly cherished his friendships.

From the moment of his diagnosis, Tim saw his experience with cancer as a vehicle for growth, embodiment and spiritual development. Even during the hardest times, he looked for the opportunities to learn, listen to his body in a more loving way, and connect more deeply with life. He was beyond determined to overcome the cancer and be here for the next chapter of life with Kate and Norah, but in the end he was at peace with the fact that life had other plans for him, saying genuinely to Kate in his final days, “I’m good, babe.” He spent some of his last energy smiling lovingly and contently at Norah, letting her know he loved her and that it was all okay.

Tim was predeceased by his loving grandparents, Christina and George Bathras and Sylvia and Carl Flink; his father-in-law, David Leach; and his dog, Sophie.

Tim is survived by his wife, Kathryn “Kate” Leach Bathras; and daughter, Norah Christina Bathras of South Portland; his parents, Efthimios “Tim” and Sonja Bathras of South Portland; his aunt and uncle and godparents, Lisa and Costas Flocatoulas of Cape Elizabeth; in-laws Teddi Reed and Sandy Wylie of Brunswick; sister-in-law, Joanna Larson and nephews Carter and Adam of Charlotte, N.C.; an intimate circle of very close friends, as well as countless extended family members, friends, colleagues, fellow wind symphony members. He also leaves behind his dog, Smidgen, who spent hours each day by his side, and Minnow, the cat he pretended to care about way less than he actually did.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, Dec. 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Ocean Gateway in Portland. Visitation begins at 1 p.m., with a service at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the

Friends School of Portland (https://www.friendsschoolportland.org/support-fsp)

or the

Casco Bay Wind Symphony (https://www.cascobaywindsymphony.org/donate-now).

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