The content of this section was compiled mostly from Sandra’s own recollection.
Tim first laid eyes on Sandra on an outing church youth group at a roller skating rink. She had been invited by the pastor’s wife. He ended up giving her a ride home with some of the other young people and he was smitten. She began attending the youth group at Calvary Baptist Church on Whittier Street in San Francisco. When she asked about Tim, someone said, “he’s the Casanova of the church, you may want to look elsewhere.” Sandy assumed that was a good thing, so she hung around to see where things would lead.
Tim continued to see her at church and asked her on a date, and then a second. His best buddy and son of the pastor, Bobby Don Matthews, advised Tim that it was hopeless, Sandy was just too shy. But on the third date he told Sandy he loved her and they “went together” for 5 years before he asked her to marry him.
Tim was lacking a bit in the area of romance. He proposed to Sandy in the car with this parents and dog, Shep. Sandy recalls that Tim would not let her look at the ring because he didn’t want to spoil the surprise. Tim made up for his lack of romance though with an every-ready sense of humor and enormous, contagious smile.
It seems Tim and Sandy did all they could to show their true selves prior to marrying, just to make sure they were a good match. Sandy recalls falling down the stairs in a prom dress and ending up at the bottom of the stairs laying there with dress completely over her body and head. Tim was not deterred. Another time, Sandy recalls discovering some lost hamburger meat under the seat of Tim’s Studebaker – it was the stench that gave it away. Sandy was not deterred.
On November 16th of 1963, Tim and Sandy were married in San Mateo, California at Calvary Baptist Church, which was later renamed Crystal Springs Bible Church. Pastor Bob Matthews, whom they had followed him over from CBC in San Francisco, performed the ceremony.
They settled into their house in Daly City, just a few blocks from Tim’s parents and a couple of miles from Sandy’s. Tim Junior arrived just a couple of years later. Sandy recalls that she left Tim Sr. with the baby for the first time and when she returned home and lifted the baby up, his diaper just fell off. Knowing how adept Tim was with his hands, one can speculate that this was his plan to escape diaper changing.
Three years later Andrew was born and soon after that, well, they bought Tim Junior his first dirt bike. It was clear that the apple wasn’t going to fall far from the tree. It was on a family camping/off road riding trip that one of the most-cherished Yaeger family stories happened. Tim junior was zipping around on his 50cc bike and he grabbed the throttle instead of the brake and crashed into a large pile of brush that was home to a yellow jacket hive. Tim Sr. ran to the scene and Tim Jr. extended his hand for help. Senior looked and Junior and promptly grabbed the bike and said, “get up and run!” Somehow, Senior ended up with 13 stings and Junior with 11.
Finally, ten years after junior was born, the third and last child arrived, Kurt. Tim wasn’t going to slow down for child number three so he brought him along on off-road adventures at a very young age. The four boys went on epic, memory filled rides in every imaginable terrain. These memories are cherished deeply by the boys. Tim Senior made it a point to bring the boys along where so many men leave their families behind to have their fun. Sandy usually had the great privilege of waiting for their return which often involved a stop at the emergency room. Sometimes, dad would choose a location and ride just so he could bring Sandy along too.
Though Tim was an adventure-lover, we look back at his fun and realize that he was a very balanced man. He squeezed the trips in as work and church would allow and he never had his fun at the expense of his family – quite the opposite, in fact. The trips and adventures were a way he could share his life with his family. He did put some time and energy into his fun, but it never became an obsession for him, just pure fun.