Tim Bosma’s wife registers charity in late husband’s name

WATCH ABOVE: The launch of “Tim’s Tribute” is a two-year-old promise fulfilled for Sharlene Bosma. Mark Carcasole reports.

It’s been almost two years since 32-year-old Tim Bosma vanished after taking two men out to test drive a pickup truck he had been selling online.

Dellen Millard and Mark Smich are currently in custody, accused of murder. That trial isn’t expected to start until early 2016.

In the two years since losing the love of her life, Sharlene Bosma has done the best she can to carry on. She keeps busy raising their child and recently finished the basement of their Ancaster home. It’s a project Tim was in the midst of completing before his death.

“We manage,” she says with a nod when asked how she’s doing. A couple seconds later, she admits with a smile “I actually really kind of hate that question.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We manage," she says with a nod when asked how she's doing. A couple seconds later, she admits with a smile "I actually really kind of hate that question."

Grieving a loved one is not easy; let alone when that loved one is taken from you suddenly, and seemingly without reason.

READ MORE: Tim Bosma: A timeline of the police investigation

Sharlene credits a program called Lean on Me, now discontinued in Hamilton, as a major part of what has made her so strong over the last couple years.

The 12-week program was focused on helping those who have lost friends and family in homicides. Each week, attendees were assigned various homework, or “help work” assignments based on a different element of or emotion around grief.

“The group of people that I was with; there’s definitely long lasting friendships and relationship bonds that have been made during that group,” says Bosma.

“There’s a lot of sharing that happens. Personal feelings. By everyone there that’s involved. It does create a very close bond.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The group of people that I was with; there's definitely long lasting friendships and relationship bonds that have been made during that group," says Bosma.</p><p>"There's a lot of sharing that happens. Personal feelings. By everyone there that's involved. It does create a very close bond."

As she prepares to launch a charity in her husban’s honour, the lessons she learned in Lean on Me will form the foundation of a similar program Tim’s Tribute will offer in the fall called “The Healing Tree.” That program will be administered by a trained professional, but Bosma and other leaders in the charity will play support roles.

Tim’s Tribute, named after her late husband, is a promise finally fulfilled by Bosma and the families of four other Ontario homicide victims. The idea was hatched in 2013, but didn’t receive official registration until February 2015.

Joining her on the leadership team are:

– Michelle Denbak and Brad Bootsma, the sister and friend of Tim Bosma respectively

– Rosy Evered, who lost her brother Ron Crawford in a shooting in Hamilton in 2002

– Donna Dixon, mother of Billy Mason who was shot in Hamilton 2006

– Robyn Stahls, whose stepbrother Terry Mingo was killed in Sault Ste. Marie last year

– Julie Cowell, sister-in-law of Tania Cowell, who was murdered in Stoney Creek in 2013

Grieving together, Sharlene says they find strength and encouragement in each other.

“All of us have a sense of satisfaction of, ‘we’ve made it this far, we’re doing great.'”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "All of us have a sense of satisfaction of, 'we've made it this far, we're doing great.'"

In addition to the therapy, Tim’s Tribute also aims to help families like theirs with the costs of making daily court appearances, from meals to parking. Expenses that may not seem like much, but can add up over the course of trials that can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

Many of the referrals to The Healing Tree will come from the province’s Victim Services program.

For information on Tim’s Tribute, including how to donate, their website will relaunch shortly at TimsTribute.ca

Click here to log onto their Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter: @TimsTribute.