Timothy Stephen Fuerst

1962 - 2017

Timothy Stephen Fuerst

Aug. 16, 1962 - Feb. 21, 2017

GRANGER - Timothy S. Fuerst, (54) went peacefully into the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 after a courageous battle with a rare form of stomach cancer. He was born August 16, 1962, in Kalida, Ohio, to the late Marvin and Frances (Gerding) Fuerst. He loved growing up in rural northwest Ohio and had many fond memories of life with his seven siblings in the small town of Kalida and his home parish of St. Michael's. Tim attended Ohio Northern University majoring in Economics and graduated first in his class in 1985. It was at Ohio Northern that he met his future “beautiful forever bride” Toni Medaglia, words that he often used to describe his beloved wife. Tim went on to graduate school at the University of Chicago on a Century Scholarship where he received his Masters (1987) and PhD in Economics (1990).

On October 8, 1988, Tim married the love of his life, Dr. Toni (Antoinette) Medaglia who survives. Their marriage was blessed with four wonderful children: Megan Frances (23), a first year medical student at George Washington University, Nathaniel James (19), a second year arts administration major at Butler University, Katelyn Rose (17), a junior at Penn High School, and Benjamin Michael (10), a 4th grader at St. Pius X. Tim's children were everything to him and his greatest joy in life. He loved taking them to the zoo, making sand castles on the beach, and coaching their sports teams.

Tim is also survived by his mother-in-law Carlotta Medaglia, seven siblings: Beth Halperin, Gary (Sophia) Fuerst, Roger (Sandy) Fuerst, Phil (Sue) Fuerst, Sue (Steve) Edman, Randy (Joyce) Fuerst and Chris (Tom) Evans; a brother-in-law Brian (Kimberly) Medaglia, and a sister-in-law Jeannine (John) McCready, and many loving nieces and nephews.

Tim was a loving husband and father and always put his family first. He was a devout Catholic and active member of St. Pius X in Granger. He was a man of great faith in Christ and His Church and lived his Catholic faith every day with everyone he met. Tim was an avid reader of literature and history, who also loved to exercise at the gym and watch Notre Dame Football. Tim loved to whistle and was known as the “whistling professor” by his students. He was extremely kind and funny and made everyone feel special. He was loved by many and will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Tim was the William and Dorothy O'Neill Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. He moved to Notre Dame in 2012 to help build a world-class economics department faithful to the University's Catholic mission. In the twenty years before moving to Notre Dame, Tim was a professor in economics at Bowling Green State University and Senior Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Tim's scholarly contributions to the study of monetary policy and business cycles were well-cited and influential within the economics profession. He was ranked in the top 3% of economists worldwide by citation frequency. Tim's work involved the study of credit markets, banking, monetary policy and business cycles. He had written over 70 papers for academic and Federal Reserve publications, including three new research papers completed during his illness. Along with his research work, Tim loved to teach, and was always thrilled to be in the classroom engaging students. He was beloved by his students, even when his whistling gave them a headache. He was still teaching at Notre Dame two weeks prior to his passing.

Visitation will be TODAY, Thursday, February 23, 2017 from 4-7 p.m., with a vigil service at 4:30 p.m. at the McGann Hay, Granger Chapel, 13260 SR 23, enter off Cherry Rd. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, February 24, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame with Msgr. William Schooler presiding. Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer a donation be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, IN, or to a memorial fund that will be used to purchase sacred art for the chapel in Jenkins-Nanovic Hall at Notre Dame. Donations for the artwork can be sent to University of Notre Dame, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, Attention: Stacy Koebel. In your correspondence, please note that the donation is for the Fuerst memorial.

To send condolences to the family, please visit www.McGannHay.com.