Zachery Tims’ children are holding a memorial gathering for their late father on his birthday, Wednesday night. Tims, who co-founded New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Fla. with his then-wife Riva, would have been 43.
Riva, who recently recounted some of her life with the charismatic preacher in the new book When It All Falls Apart: Find healing, joy and victory through the pain, announced the memorial on her Facebook page.
“We will be remembering Dr. Zachery Tims Jr. on his birthday with a special memorial gathering on Wednesday, April 18th 2012,” Riva wrote. “It will be a very brief program (30 minutes) led by the Tims’ Children.”
The service is being held at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Orlando, Fla., at 6:30 p.m.
Riva and their four children were on vacation with Tims in Puerto Rico the week prior to his death.
Tims died in a New York City hotel room last August at age 42. News reports indicate he had a plastic bag filled with white powder in his pocket, leading many to believe his death was associated with a drug overdose. By Tims’ own testimony, he was instantly delivered from drug addiction when he was saved as a teenager. However, the cause of death has not been publicly revealed.
Oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 4 in Tims’ mother Madeline’s move to keep her son’s death cause private. A ruling may not come down from the bench until early 2013, according to attorney Ricardo E. Oquendo, who is representing Madeline in the suit.
