With three brothers at least five years older than he was, Tim Strachan hated going to sleep before they did and \u201cwas hell trying to get to go to bed,\u201d according to his father, Rich.<\/p>\n
When Tim \u2014 who was called \u201cT\u201d by family and friends \u2014 was about 10 years old, his mother Mary asked him why he fought so hard to stay awake.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis answer was, \u2018I didn\u2019t want to miss the fun,\u2019\u201d Rich Strachan recalled. \u201cHe was just that kind of person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Strachan, who became a broadcaster for Maryland football games, a lawyer and a motivational speaker after a diving accident that left him paralyzed and prevented him from continuing what had been a promising football career as a star quarterback, died of cancer on July 8. The Kensington resident was less than two months shy of celebrating his 50th birthday.<\/p>\n
Mr. Strachan, who was\u00a0in a wheelchair for the final 32 years of his life, was an inspiration to many who crossed paths with him. Mark Duffner, who coached the Terps during the early stages of Mr. Strachan\u2019s radio broadcasting career, described Mr. Strachan as an unforgettable figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all better because of the impact and awareness and association with Tim Strachan,\u201d he said. \u201cThe world needs way more people like this guy because \u2014 we called him \u2018T-Bird\u2019 \u2014 he was a rare bird.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Rich Strachan: \u201cHe would tell you that he had two lives, and they were both awesome. He had a good first life and a good second life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Strachan was the youngest of four sons born to and raised by the former Mary Fisher, a homemaker, and Rich Strachan, cofounder of Fisher & Strachan, a commercial interior construction company in Rockville. At DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Mr. Strachan developed into one of the top high school quarterback recruits nationally \u2014 on par with peers such as Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe certainly had everything that every school in the country was looking for as a quarterback,\u201d said Duffner, who asserted that Maryland was the first major college program to offer a scholarship to Mr. Strachan in spring 1993 after he led DeMatha to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title in fall 1992. \u201cHe just had everything \u2014 size, speed. So it was kind of a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the Terps\u2019 offer, Mr. Strachan committed to play at Penn State. But on Aug. 5, 1993, during a family vacation at Bethany Beach, Delaware, the 17-year-old rising senior dove into a wave, struck the ocean floor with his head, and was paralyzed from the neck down.<\/p>\n