RALPH "TIM" MCCABE / 1941-2007
Paramedics indebted to teacher
Though Ralph "Tim" McCabe died Sept. 30, he'll be saving lives for quite some time, his friends and colleagues say.
As a Kapiolani Community College emergency medical services instructor for many years, McCabe trained hundreds of lifeguards, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, said Donnie Gates, the city's assistant chief for emergency medical services.
"As long as there are people in the field who were trained by Tim, his legacy will live on," Gates said yesterday.
McCabe, 66, of Kaneohe, died at Castle Medical Center.
He was a psychiatric nurse for 13 years before he "found his niche" teaching emergency medical response, said friend and colleague Ralph Goto, city director of Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services.
McCabe was named by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 1987 as one of "Ten Who Made a Difference" for his captivating presentations of difficult subject material and was widely respected by public safety line personnel and administrators, Goto said.
"Tim was able to break down difficult concepts into easily understandable language that our personnel could remember under stressful conditions," Goto said.
McCabe was born in Kahuku, grew up in Kaaawa and graduated from Saint Louis School in 1959, Goto said. He received his nursing degree from Rio Hondo College in Whittier, Calif., and a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
He is survived by sisters Ruth M. Gagne, Madeline Neely and S. Haunani Dhyne. Services: 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Borthwick Mortuary. Call after 5:30 p.m. Private burial at a later date. Aloha attire.