Timmy's Tower: A Father's Love, Built in Stone

Late June in southwest Missouri is not gentle. The heat presses down without apology — 97 degrees for days on end, a real-feel temperature north of 100. The kind of heat that sends people indoors, that empties sidewalks and quiets streets.

And yet, on the opening day of Timmy's Tower at the Precious Moments Chapel and Grounds in Carthage, people came outside and stood in it anyway.

They came because they had been waiting years for this. Because something had been quietly taking shape beside the Chapel — something small and simple and intentional — and now it was finished. And every half hour, bells rang out over the Missouri Ozarks for the first time.

The Dream That Was Always There

Sam Butcher had wanted a bell tower from the very beginning. When he built the Precious Moments Chapel in 1985, the bell tower was one of those "one day" dreams — the kind you hold quietly, waiting for the timing to be right.

Life, as it so often does, decided the timing for him.

Timothy Butcher — Timmy, Sam's third son — passed away unexpectedly in October 2012 at the age of 45. He was, by every account, an extraordinary person: a talented musician, artist, and scholar with a love of science, a deep faith, and, his father always said, the most remarkable sense of humor of any of his children. Sam confessed with a father's particular pride that Timmy was the one child he could never remember having to punish — though he suspected, with a laugh, that Timmy had simply been better at timing his mischief.

Sam had already lost one son before Timmy — Phillip, who passed in 1991, and in whose memory Sam had created Phillip's Room inside the Chapel.

"Phillip's Room has probably been one of the most effective rooms as far as really touching people in a very special way. It was the Lord who told me this would be a way for Phillip to reach many people." — Sam Butcher

When Timmy died, Sam was hospitalized for three weeks. He was moved to the Mayo Clinic. It took nearly a year before he could begin to understand what had happened.

"After Timmy died, I completely lost it and was in the hospital for three weeks in another country. From there I was moved to the Mayo Clinic and it took almost a year for me to accept and understand that Timmy in his death could reach many people with encouragement and love — much in the same way he did during his life on Earth, but on a much larger scale." — Sam Butcher

Building the Tower

Ground was broken in 2014. Slowly, quietly, the bell tower took shape beside the Chapel — small and intentionally simple, the way Timmy himself had moved through the world.

"I wanted that feeling of real simplicity. In Timmy's Tower I've made a beautiful room dedicated to him that will resonate with many people and hopefully touch their lives at the most trying and unsettling times." — Sam Butcher

When visitors step inside, they are met first by a life-size Angel Timmy doll, seated on an ornate chair — unexpected and immediately emotional. Beyond it, a gold-framed painting by Sam depicts clouds, a lone bluebird, and rays of light that visitors have described as looking like the gates of Heaven.

On the walls: Timmy's own childhood artwork. At age five, he had drawn a cartoon-style story depicting Joseph and his coat of many colors — a child's faith, rendered in a child's hand. Nearby, a large gold frame holds 1 Corinthians 2:9, painted by Sam among butterflies and flowers. And in a smaller gold frame, a poem Sam wrote:

The sad loss of a loved one
Can be so hard at times
I understand because I lost
Two precious sons of mine

I lost my way and wandered
In a valley of despair
Because my heavy burden
Was too much for me to bear

But then I heard a still small voice
So warm and tender
It was the voice of Him, who said
I'm here, just trust in me.

Then all at once, I felt a touch
It was the hand of God
So gentle, warm and soothing
Like a balm in Gilead

We need not be afraid my friend
When sorrow comes because
The Lord will bless us and keep us
By the power of His love.

~ Samuel J. Butcher, October 12, 2015

A Celebration of Life

Timothy Butcher's obituary described him as "a great son, brother and a friend to many. He was a talented musician, artist and scholar. He had a strong love for science and an amazing sense of humor."

Sam added one more thing: "Timmy was very intelligent and very, very creative. After he died, I guess the first thought that came to me was that his life could still go on. That's why I built the Tower."

The bells ring every half hour. The Tower is open year-round. And people keep coming — in the heat of June, in the cold of winter, in all the seasons of grief that find us — to stand inside a small, simple room that a father built to keep his son's memory alive.

"My work is never done. I'm always inspired to do something else." — Sam Butcher

We wouldn't want it any other way.

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This is the final post in the Precious Moments history series — a series honoring the life and legacy of Samuel J. Butcher (January 1, 1939 – May 20, 2024), and all the places, people, and moments of faith that made his work what it was.

Timmy's Tower is open year-round at the Precious Moments Chapel and Grounds in Carthage, Missouri. Plan your visit at preciousmomentschapel.org.

← Chapel Series: The Road Trip with God | Building the Chapel | Hallelujah Square | The Blue Angel

← Start at the beginning: Who Was Sam Butcher? The Artist Who Created Precious Moments