Timothy J. Liszewski, 60, of Columbia, SC formerly of Cleveland, OH, died in the early morning hours on Saturday, March 28, 2020 from complications of the Covid-19 virus. It is believed that Tim had a heart infection called Myocarditis caused by the virus. Due to travel restrictions and health and safety, A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Timothy is survived by his mother, Josephine Liszewski; brother, Tom Liszewski; sister, Sue Dupay (John); son, Aaron Liszewski; daughter, Rebecca Liszewski: granddaughter, Amber Banning; and his heartbroken fiancee, Maris Burton; Uncle Wally; Aunt and Uncle, Loreen and George Metcalf; Godson, Steve Metcalf; (Nicole); Steven's son, Patrick Metcalf; Cousins; Joe Metcalf; (Sarah); grandnieces, Elizabeth and Marie; Kelly Metcalf (Reed); Nephew, David Dupay (Natalie); grandniece, Avery; Nephew,Josh Dupay (Angie); grandnephew, Nate; Nephew, Michael Dupay. He was predeceased by his brother, Jim Liszewski; his Uncles, George and Eugene Liszewski; his Father, Joseph Liszewski; and maternal and paternal grandparents.

Tim was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 28,1959 to Joseph and Josephine Liszewski (Nee' Metcalf). He graduated from Marquette University in 1981 with a BA in Radio and Print Journalism. He had several jobs after graduation before joining the Army as a photojournalist. He was proud of the fact that even though he couldn't do as many push-ups or sit-ups as the other recruits, he could run circles around them due to his Cross Country track experience at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. It was here he met his best friends; Jimmy Nowogrowcki, Billy Kavula, and Mark Bodamer. Tim was very proud of lettering in Cross Country in High School and being on the debate team as well as gaining his foundation of the Jesuit teachings of: context, experience, reflection, action and evaluation. Tim remembered this as putting words and teaching into action. Tim fondly recalled his service work at a nursing home and of listening to his grandparents, who lived upstairs, tell stories of the old country. Tim was proud of his blue collar Polish roots and strongly connected to being a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks.

During his 4 years of Army service, Tim wrote for a Pentagon newspaper, performed Color Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and conducted tours of Arlington Cemetery. Tim's son, Aaron, was born June 23,1985 and Tim was in his element. His daughter, Rebecca, was born June 14, 1991. Tim said he loved being a dad and making his children laugh. He enjoyed telling stories about the "swiss cheese holey cows" that lived on an experimental farm near his own home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tim could be stern and give the children "the look" but encouraged their curiosity and wanted the best for them. He was thrilled when his granddaughter, Amber, was born on August 19, 2010. Tim and Maris drove up several times a year from Columbia, SC to spend time with his children and granddaughter who lived in Virginia. Tim loved to say he was going to "kidnap" Amber so he and Maris could be parents together.

Tim had so many jobs it is hard to list them all: working at Micro Mass as a software program tester, a pizza delivery guy, and as an editor of a newspaper. Tim loved reporting and getting to the heart of a story. He was trained in investigative impartial journalism and loved to remind Maris after hearing about something that was reported, "trust but verify" and have at least two sources.

Tim was living in Raleigh, NC trying to make ends meet after his divorce, and was very heartsick about leaving his children but he needed to find work. He became involved in politics and activism on the national level when he was chosen as a delegate for Dennis Kucinich (former Ohio state senator and then a congressman who ran for president) to attend the Democratic National Convention in 2003. After that Tim was able to spend time in Jacksonville, Florida going door to door in minority communities to register people to vote. He made good friends and became steeped in the principles of grassroots organizing and the importance of making connections with voters by sharing your own stories and values.

Tim was recruited by Michael Berg, the former Executive Director of the SC Peace Resource Center (SCPRC), to move to Columbia, SC and take over as Executive Director of SC PRC. Tim met his future fiancee, Maris Burton, at a party to welcome the new director. Tim and Maris shared ideals and values that centered on working for social justice, economic equality, and advocacy. Maris was a disability rights advocate who had grown up marching against the Vietnam War, walking to raise money and awareness for the California migrant workers (the famous grape boycotts of the mid 1970s), and had gone door to door with her mother to "Get out the Vote" during George McGovern's failed attempt at the presidency. Tim and Maris bonded over righting the many wrongs they saw at the local, state and national level. Maris said she knew Tim was "a keeper" when she helped him write out the names of all the soldiers lost in the "endless war" for a memorial service held at the County building in Columbia, SC.

They shared a love of volunteerism with Maris recruiting Tim to join her as a "regular" Sunday Volunteer at the Nickelodeon in 2005 at its original Main St. location next to Immaculate Consumption Coffeehouse. Tim felt turnabout was fair play and introduced her to what was then called Food Not Bombs USC as it was started by two University of South Carolina students. Tim and Maris eventually became part of a core group of 35 devoted Food Not Bombs members who showed up every Sunday in all kinds of heat, rain and even hurricanes to share food with hungry people in Finlay Park. Sunday was their volunteer day and friends knew the pair would not attend events on Sundays due to their commitment. The couple would make exceptions to attend their friends' CD release parties or shows. Tim enjoyed live music and was known to recruit musicians to play for his and Maris' many events: Food Not Bombs 2014 and 2015 fundraisers and Cindy Sheehan's "Bring Them Home" tour, Sept. 2005. Tim and friends put together a short video about Occupy Columbia and used Danielle Howle's music.

Tim was a very active member of Occupy Columbia in 2010-2011, a part of the larger Occupy movement where the goal for the protesters was to "occupy the Statehouse as lobbyists and moneyed groups with special interests do". The loosely organized national movement aimed to draw attention to inequity in America and the influence the wealthy 1% have over government, and to raise awareness about economic inequality. The expression "We are the 99% " came out of that movement. Maris organized the Food Not Bombs volunteers and others to keep the hungry protesters fed with at least one hot meal a day. Tim was eventually arrested with several others under the pretext that the State House grounds were not public and you needed a permit to gather there.

The Free Speech lawsuit was settled in the protesters' favor and they were monetarily compensated. Tim took his share and bought a vehicle that wouldn't break down every other month and used the remainder to fulfil a dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia to Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine.

Tim's plan was to hike north bound from April – October 2015 during the heat of the summer and then head south to Springer Mt. Georgia when it was cooler. After 6 months on the trail, Tim had lost 50 pounds and covered about 1,100 miles by the end of September 2015. Maris flew up to Maine to spend Tim's last few days of the trip hiking a small portion of the AT (3 miles, so she could say she had!). Along that trail was the site where they proposed to each other. Tim gave Maris a silver engagement ring whose design symbolized two paths intersecting. Maris waited, impatient and worried for Tim to return. Reaching the summit of Katahdin concluded this portion of the hike. He was exhausted and out of funds. They returned to Columbia driving home through a heavy downpour that was the start of hurricane Joaquin and the thousand year flood.

Tim knew he wanted to be involved in the presidential election for 2016 and joined the Bernie Sanders' campaign as the Out-of-State Coordinator. Tim's job was to find housing for volunteers that came from across the country to help out in the various states before their primaries. He also became a Field Organizer who trained volunteers on how to educate voters and work "turf".

Tim's anger, sadness and frustration lasted months beyond the 2016 election. He was disappointed by the inflexibility of a national organization to take a chance on someone with new ideas when much of the population was clamoring for change. Tim was ready to make a change and wanted a job that would utilize his many talents gained from years of organizing, training and managing, but mainly one that allowed him the freedom to work for what he believed in and would not end in 9 months. He was looking for stability, so he and

Maris could plan their future. He knew of Indivisible, an organization that formed in the wake of the 2016 election. It was made up of people and groups that collectively decided there needed to be an organized approach to getting out the message and electing people who represented constituent's voices when it came to human rights, equal rights, social justice, and health care for all. He applied to be the Great Plains Regional Director. (He felt very qualified having just spent months organizing for Bernie in Idaho, Kansas, Wisconsin and Minnesota).

He was hired and felt that he had found an ideological home. Groups that operate under collective or consensus-driven agendas and are "process oriented" can be frustrating and downright angering for people like Tim. Despite being a very careful, methodical thinker and speaker, Tim wanted to create a plan and act on that plan--now! He would tease Maris that the group discussions she and other groups had would "talk the life out of an idea".

Tim embraced a very social media and web-based job that allowed him to work from home and communicate through video meetings, staff calls, and travel to visit "his territories". He loved getting to know the other Indivisible staff, directors, organizers, IT and training staff. But his heart was with the volunteer group leaders who were committed advocates, willing to do what it takes to achieve the common good. He created lasting friendships that persisted even after he was assigned new states and handed off communication responsibilities.

As recently as March of this year, Tim and Maris had discussed retirement and what Tim wanted to do. After having enjoyed an exciting, strenuous and fulfilling trip to visit and hike 5 of Utah's National Parks last August, Tim and Maris had continued to hike 3-5 miles on the weekends or after work on Fridays to stay in shape. They had planned to hike about 50 miles of the Camino dos Faros "Lighthouse Way" in Galicia, Spain from Laxe to Cape Finisterre for their honeymoon in May.

Tim's goal was to retire at 65 and complete his final 850 miles of the AT from Rockfish Gap, VA to Springer Mtn in GA.

Tim loved his children and granddaughter above all else. He loved walks in the woods, watching wildlife whether it was the squirrels raiding the bird feeders or a black bear off the AT, photography, music of all types, writing, (both fiction and non-fiction), reading history and non-fiction and indulging in the "mind candy" of murder mysteries and best-selling novels. He had a children's book he wanted to write called Monk takes a hike that was going to feature Monk, a small stuffed animal monkey who was Tim's constant travel companion, based on the hundreds of photos he sent home and posted on his blog, https://www.timonthetrail.com/ .

Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family. Memories, photos etc. may be left at https://www.shivesfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Timothy-Liszewski/ #!/
In lieu of flowers, donations or memorials can be made to: SC Progressive Network GROW Building fund 1340 Elmwood Ave. in Columbia. Contact us at 803-808-3384 or network@scpronet.com . https://secure.everyaction.com/a23FWK8-wkiPrmJFOzQ8Gw2 Radio Paradise, CA Bill and Rebecca Goldsmith https://payments.radioparadise.com/

Tim will be missed but the Work will continue. Peace through food and music. Rest in Power Tim.