Longtime Lacey teacher diagnosed with ALS has died

Tim Bittrick, a longtime teacher at Seven Oaks Elementary School who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, died at his home in Olympia last week. He was 56.

Bittrick was diagnosed in late 2017 and stopped teaching a year ago. His disease progressed quickly, said Heidi Gowland, Bittrick’s sister who moved here from Spokane to help care for him.

He went from a walker to a wheelchair; when he lost the ability to speak, he used a device that let him type messages just by staring at keys on a keyboard.

“For Tim, being able to communicate and be in a conversation and be able to ask people ‘How are you?,’ that was so important,” she said.

Many of Bittrick’s former students and their families got in touch and came to see him, said Julie Davis, who got to know Bittrick when her son was in his class and volunteered for years in his classroom.

“He thought everybody would quit after nine months or whatever. He was surprised that everyone wanted to see him,” Davis said.

A Facebook page called Team Bittrick was created after he was diagnosed, and friends and former students used it to share memories of Bittrick.

“I remember at the beginning of the year in the 5th grade he gave everyone in class an index card to decorate and make their own. Afterwards he gave everyone a nickname to help him remember our real names. ...” one former student wrote. “To this day I carry that name with me like a badge of honor.”

Services will be held Friday at St. Michael Catholic Parish in Olympia, with viewing at 11 a.m. and Mass at noon.