Timothy Browning Layden

Timothy Browning Layden of Piedmont died peacefully with his wife by his side on Jan. 24, 2017 at the age of 84. He was a loving husband, devoted father and grandfather, and a loyal friend. Mr. Layden was born on February 16, 1932 in Los Angeles to Anona and George Layden. He spent his childhood in Hawaii and Los Angeles. His father died when he was a boy; his mother then married Timothy E. Colvin.

Mr. Layden graduated from Piedmont High School in 1951 and attended Arizona and San Francisco State universities. He married Christine Swanson in 1958 and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Karin. Christine Layden died in 2012.

Tim always considered himself a newspaper man. He loved print media and was proud to be in advertising sales with the Wall Street Journal and then Investor’s Daily. He met his current wife, Suzanne, who was the Advertising/ Merchandising Manager for the Flecto Co., at a San Francisco Advertisg Club luncheon. They were married in 1977 in Honolulu and shortly thereafter moved back to Piedmont.

Tim was chairman of the City Park Committee that developed Linda Park, was chairman of the first Help Fight Crime Day in Piedmont and ran for Piedmont City Council. He was a member of the San Francisco Advertising Club, the Northern California Business Professional Advertising Association, the Commonwealth Club, the San Francisco Guardsmen, the San Francisco University Club and the Bohemian Club.

Tim loved to read the newspaper, spend time with family, hit a bucket of golf balls, listen to Big Band music, do projects around the house and eat cheese enchiladas. He loved travelling to Hawaii and Palm Springs and cruising the seas on Windstar cruises.

Tim had a wonderful sense of humor and always made people laugh. He loved to see people smile and cared deeply for his family and friends. Tim brought joy to those who knew him. You could hear him whistling a merry tune, see the twinkle in his eye, and feel his warm smile cheer you up. Even as his health declined, he never complained and his sense of humor showed throughout.

He loved playing games with names. Grandfather or Grandpa were not names he wanted to be called – he wanted “Mr. Layden” until the right name came to mind; then he became “Granola” or “Goda” for short.

Tim will be dearly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by Suzanne, his wife of 39 years, his two daughters and their families: Elizabeth and Chris dos Remedios and their daughters Kathryn and Stephanie of Alameda, and Karin and Jeff Saunders and their children Jacob, Anela, and Carson of Santa Rosa, a sister, Kimberley Young and brother, Christopher Colvin.

Tim’s life will be celebrated with a service at Zion Lutheran Church, 5201 Park Blvd, Piedmont at 1 p.m. May 6.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association act.alz.org or the The Guardsmen https://guardsmen.org/