Timothy L. Gilbreth
LCDR
Navy
Date of Birth:
Date of Death:
December 23, 1964
May 21, 2001
Place of Death:
Cemetery:
Cemetery Location:
Grave site:
California
Medical Lake Cemetery
Spokane, WA
Plot B3-L100-S6
Gilbreath remembered fondly at MLHS
Medical Lake athletic director and head football coach, John Giannandrea, remembers former Medical Lake graduate Timothy Gilbreth as a hard-working kid who made up for better-than-average athletic talent by playing smart.
"He was a cerebral player, not a physical player," Giannandrea said last Friday.
Lt. GIlbreath, an 11-year Navy veteran was killed last Monday, May 21, when the T-34C Turbo Mentor he was piloting in a training exercise crashed about three miles northeast of El Centro Naval Air Facility, located 110 miles east of San Diego, Calif.
The cause of the crash of the two-seat prop plane is still under investigation.
Gilbreth, 36, a 1963 graduate of Medical Lake High School, played tight end for Giannandrea from 1981 - 1983. He was a Frontier League All-Conference selection in 1982, and named the team's most inspirational player in the same year.
"He was a great, hard working kid, one that every coach loves to have, "Giannandrea said. He said that Gilbreth learned to block, and then slip off the block to go catch a pass, so well that he ended up teaching his younger brother the technique.
As a tight end, Tim Gilbreth led all receivers in reception on the 1982 Cardinal team.
Gilbreth carried this hard work ethic into his military career. He graduated from high school with honors in 1983, and entered the Navy in 1984. After six months service he received a Navy ROTC scholarship, and enrolled in the University of Idaho.
Gilbreth eventually earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in industrial engineering from Idaho by 1992.
Gilbreth went on to become a F-18 Hornet pilot, and was serving as an instructor at a Hornet fighter training squadron in Lenmoore, Calif., at the time of the crash.
His wife, Kari, and twin 6-year-old boys Michael and Christian in Lenmoore survive Gilbreth, as well as his parents, Michael Gilbreth and Rose Seprejda, five siblings and stepsiblings, grandparents Fritz and Bernard Gilbreth of Medical Lake, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Giannandrea isn't surprised by Tim Gilbreth's success in the Navy. Besides being a good football, and basketball player, Gilbreth was also a good student who did a good job - no doubt.
"It he sets goals, he usually accomplishes them," Giannandrea added.