Page 11 - Life Legacy Project

So God Made a Farmer
“And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God made a farmer” (Paul Harvey). This is a quote that ties directly to my grandpa, Tim “Deeb” Knutzen. To everyone that knows him, he is Deeb or Grandeeb. This name came about because my mom could not say dad so it came out “Deeb” and it has stuck ever since. He is a very caring and thoughtful man that always thinks and acts for the people around him and never has a bad word to say about anybody.
Deeb was born on February 15th, 1959 in Burlington, WA. He has a twin sister, Tammy, and is one of 9 children. Growing up, his family owned a 500-acre farm where he got to run and play. Then, in January of 1972, his family moved. He said that this one of the most awful times of his life, that this is when he started to get into more trouble as a kid. He then quickly moved back in June of 1976 and hasn’t left since. One of the biggest times in his childhood was when started driving tractors by himself at the age of 8. He said he soon learned that you had a lot of time to think and process things on a tractor, and quickly fell in love with it.
There has been a lot of rushing in Deeb's life. He got married at 17 and then had his first kid about 7 months later. He said it was rough going those first couple years, with not a lot of money and having 1 kid before you were out of high school and 2 very shortly thereafter. The family never took a lot of vacations, but when they did they were always fun. One time when they took a rare vacation to Lake Chelan, they were at a water park and were watching people come down one of the slides on inner tubes. Deeb starting making fun of one of the kids coming down the slide because he was upside down, stating “ah man, I feel sorry for that kid's parents, I’m sure they’re really proud of him!” and directly after, his youngest son pops his head up from out of the water.
There have been a lot of fun and touching stories in Deebs lifetime. Nowadays he spends his time caring for his grandkids, all 6 of us. He also spends a lot of the time out in his barns, looking over equipment and tractors for the coming summer, just waiting to get that first cut of hay started. He loves to quote “Big time players make big time plays in big time moments” every chance he gets and loves to make people laugh and smile. He has a new pal out in the barn as well, a cat that he named Frank. Frank loves to spend his days following Deeb around and snagging the occasional duck or two. He reminds me to always take care of your body, old injuries hurt a lot more than they do now. He also advises that you slow down, appreciate the little things in life. Don’t be a bunch of idiots and don’t think that your way is the only way to do things. Treat others how you want to be treated, and you can accomplish anything in life.
By Garner Christensen
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