Timothy Joseph Svehla was born March 28, 1960 in Friend, Nebraska to Joseph A. and Phyllis A. (Sicner) Svehla and passed away on February 15, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska at the age of 52 years, 10 months, 18 days. Tim graduated from Friend High School in 1978. He attended Southeast Community College in Milford, completing his degree in 1980 in Parts Management and Distribution. Following college, Tim was employed in various agricultural jobs for farmers around the Friend area. He began his firefighter career as a volunteer fireman in Friend, Nebraska on April 12, 1982; he was elected Chief November 23, 1987 and served as Chief until July 15, 2001. Tim then worked with the State Fire Marshals Office until 2006. He was a driver for Overland Sand and Gravel and currently was working as a transport driver for Prince of the Road. Tim was united in marriage to Tami Kratochvil on April 8, 2006 in Jamaica. Tim's hobbies included gardening, yard work, hunting and John Deere tractors. He enjoyed attending tractor pulls and car races. Tim is preceded in death by his father, Joseph Svehla in 2012. Tim is survived by his wife, Tami Svehla, Seward; son and daughter-in-law, Nick and Stephanie Svehla and grandchildren, Ty and Ava, all of Friend; son, Dana Svehla, Lincoln; mother, Phyllis Svehla, Friend; brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Lori Svehla, and niece, Megan, all of Lincoln; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Eugene and Elaine Kratochvil, Seward; brother-in-law, Bryan Kratochvil and fiancé Tamara Wake, Lincoln; sister-in-law, Shari Hamsa and nephews, Jacob and Jarod, all of Omaha; brother-in-law and spouse, Jim and Erika Kratochvil, and nieces, Drew and Libby, all of Seward; aunts, uncles, cousins and a host of friends. To this obituary we add our thoughts, prayers, and memories of life shared with Tim.