Timothy F. Tunstall

Timothy F. Tunstall, 62, died unexpectedly on Thursday, November 29, of a heart attack at his home in Hampden, Massachusetts.

Tim was predeceased by his parents, Donald J. and Mary L. Tunstall. He is survived by his siblings James of Easthampton, Thomas (T.P.) of Wales, Christine of Townsend, Michael of Weston, Connecticut, Tricia of Plano, Texas, and Mary Julia of Longmeadow. “Uncle Tim” also leaves behind many beloved nephews and nieces including Jeff, Sara, Tim P., Woody, Sean T., Dylan, Roman, Linus, Michael, Sean P., Madeline, Connor, Lilly, Molly, Anna, Parker, and Wyatt. Tim is also survived by his Uncle Aldo Paier and family, of West Springfield.

While Tim had friends from all walks of life from the U.S. and across Europe, he stayed in close contact with his childhood friends, including Tom Dromey, Tim McCarthy, Chris Ryan, Chris Cary, Tim Fitzpatrick, Bobby Dillon, Jim Flahive, Franny Murray, Mark Ianello, the late Michael Downey, John Discenza, Jerome Noonan, and Frank Shea, among many others. Tim was universally known among his friends as “Timmer.”

Born in Springfield, Tim grew up in the city’s Forest Park neighborhood, where he attended Holy Name Grammar School. He graduated from Cathedral High School in 1974, where he was co-captain of the tennis team, and subsequently received a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1978.

Upon graduation from UMass, Tim joined Allison Acoustics, a high-end stereo-speaker manufacturer based in eastern Massachusetts, leading to a long career in research and development, and product design. The founder of Allison recruited Tim after becoming aware of innovative speakers that Tim had designed and built while in college. Tim then became the research and development manager at Joinwood Manufacturing of Dublin, Ireland, where he worked for several years and developed a life-long love of Ireland, visiting friends there throughout his life.

He returned to western Massachusetts in the early 1980s to join Tunstall Corporation along
with his Dad and brother, T.P. During their 30-year leadership tenure, T.P. and Tim increased the number of employees from three to over 30. Tim was the driving force behind the company’s pivotal shift from a manufacturers’ rep company to a product-manufacturing company when he invented, trademarked, and marketed the Tunstall Steam Capsule, a leading product for the company for over 25 years. Tim made many life-long friends at Tunstall Corporation, including Laura Maspo, who joined the company to work with Tim in 1995. Tim continued working in research and development at the company until his untimely death.

Tim also designed, patented and marketed the Tunstall Putter, which has adjustable swing weights that can be changed based on a golfer’s preferences. In 1985 he received approval from the USGA in order to market the putter in various product catalogs. His design was the precursor to the weight systems that golf clubs now widely incorporate.

Tim spent considerable time at his house in his beloved Worthington, Massachusetts, where he lived during summers as a child. For over 20 years, he hosted the annual Tunstall Fall Foliage Open at Worthington Golf Club, where he won the junior club championship as a teenager.

Tim rebuilt the house in Worthington over many years and many friends and family helped with his projects there. He enjoyed the swimming hole and rudimentary stone house in the woods, where he happily spent one winter living only with a woodstove and no electricity. Tim leaves many good friends in Worthington, from childhood through adulthood.

Tim was a generous, kind, and unusually creative person who loved his family and cherished his many friends. While very successful, Tim was indifferent to convention, yet he never had a single adversary. He will be sorely missed.

A celebration of Tim’s life will begin with visiting hours on Tuesday, December 4, 2018 from 4:00-7:00pm at Forastiere Smith Funeral & Cremation on 220 North Main Street in East Longmeadow. It will continue on Wednesday, December 5th with a ceremony at 11:00am at the funeral home. Donations may made to the Joslin Diabetes Center, One Joslin Place, Boston, MA 02215 in memory of Timothy F. Tunstall. To share an online message to the family visit www.forastiere.com