April 4th 2023

We wish our wonderful tenor, Mark Hawkins, a VERY

Happy Birthday!!! 

June 7th 2022
It is with great sorrow we announce the passing of our beloved tenor singer, Tim Harden, this morning, Tuesday June 7th, around 5AM.

His voice has now been added to the Heavenly choir praising his Saviour whom he sang for here on earth all of his life... 55 years of which were with the Watchmen Quartet.

We know we will see him again one day soon. But he will be sadly missed.

Please pray for his family: Jackie, Jeff + Eva, Jeremy + Tasha and their children. The Watchmen would appreciate your prayers too.

Celebration of Life service was held on June 25th at Bethany Missionary Church in Kitchener, where the quartet originated and where Tim & Jackie attended for the last few years.

May 21st, 2022

Dear Praying Family  & Friends:

Passing on the latest update.  

On Friday of this week we received a more elongated call from Dr. Husien, our primary specialist who deals with liver cancer.  We were grateful for this as we had lots of questions. He took time to address questions and then he gave us four options that we were free to choose.

He said we could choose to do nothing,  in which case they would work diligently to keep me as comfortable and pain-free as possible for the rest of my life. Then he said we could choose to have general Chemo Therapy and that might slow down the progress of this tumor and it’s metastasis to other areas of my abdomen. He once again pointed to my very high cancer marker count in my blood. (In a normal heathy person it is an average of 8.4, but mine was 90,340!)  He said that almost always means the cancer has spread.

Next he pointed out that he could and would do surgery if we ask him to, but then he cautioned us:

1. My other health issues like a history of heart problems and type 2 Diabetes along with my age would make it very high risk surgery. He said you could die on the table and you’d be very susceptible to infection and / or uncontrollable bleeding. He said my tumor was larger than they originally thought and that he would have to remove too much of it to count on regeneration. He also explained that when London Health Services looked at my files he had sent to them, their liver transplant specialist team said right away that I was not a candidate for a transplant. They didn’t like my high cancer marker count or my health history.

He made it clear that he didn’t think this option was wise

The next option would be to use a T.A.C.E. approach to treat the tumor.  What is T.A.C.E.?  Transarterial chemoembolization or TACE places chemotherapy and synthetic materials called embolic agents into a blood vessel feeding a cancerous tumor to cut off the tumor's blood supply and trap the chemotherapy within the tumor.  It is often chosen in late stage cancer, and while there is not much hope of eradicating the cancer, it can impede the progress and give you more time.

We have chosen this last option with Dr. Husiens’ encouragement and experience. The paperwork to get things rolling is happening as of this note. Not sure how long this will take.

I have not had a good week this week and came very close to a 911 call last night.  Around mid-night I had a sudden urge to purge, and I lost the little I had eaten on Friday.  I then had a coughing-spell that left me with searing pain and extreme discomfort.  I soaked my t-shirt with sweat and have been in great pain since then. 

I received a very kind gift of a “Walker,” this week.  This will help to steady me when I walk. 

I’m finding grace and encouragement in the Lord each day, and the outpouring of love and prayers on my behalf has moved me greatly. I’ve gone on for a long time here and maybe told you more than you wanted to know. Jeff and Eva left Smithers in northern BC, Thursday night and this morning they were in Winnipeg. They should be with us on Monday which is a great blessing. They will only stay for a few days and they then will drive back home.  I am so very grateful that Jeff, Eva and Jeremy & Tasha have made the sacrifices to come all that distance to see me again, Jeremy in Feb. Jeff this week.

Love and blessings to you,

Tim & Jackie 

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April 13th, 2022

Dear friends of the Watchmen,

Our beloved tenor singer, Tim Harden, is going through a difficult time right now. Here are the details, in his own words, from a recent note he sent out on April 11th. We ask that you keep Tim and his wife, Jackie, in your prayers.

"Just to bring you fully up to date along with the quartet who is copied on this.  I went three weeks ago to emerge at St. Mary’s hospital and spent the whole day there.  I was in excruciating pain and after a full abdominal Ultrasound, the internist in emerge told me I did in fact have some gall stones and he was going to recommend a specialist, a Dr. Sanders for further treatment planning.  He also told me that day that he was actually more concerned about metastasis lesions or spots on my liver.  So Dr. Sanders booked me for an MRI and a CT scan, both of which I had last week and both of those tests confirmed their concern for my liver.  Dr. Saunders said it looked very much like cancer to him and he ordered an Ultrasound specifically on my liver and also at that time they would do a biopsy.  I’m still waiting to hear from the hospital as to when this will happen.  Dr. Sanders also referred me to Dr. Mohamed Husein, a liver specialist and surgeon.  He looked at the first Ultrasound, the CT scan and the MRI and told me, “So you have liver cancer!”  He ordered specific bloodwork and urinalysis with the liver in mind.  Those results reached resulted in my doctor, Dr. Tracy Bausmer telling me that all of the tests and especially the blood work she got on Monday were confirming to her that I had cancer.  Jackie was with me when she spoke to me.  She also said I also have other markers for cancer, like little blood clots forming in my lungs that give me these random times of difficult breathing and then my heart moves into angina mode and I have to take my Nitro Glycerin. 

She ordered another CT scan on my lungs which will happen on Wednesday of this week. She told me that the times when I experience severe pain will increase in the days to come and she adjusted my medications and prescribed a stronger pain killer.  I three very bad days with severe pain last week and thankfully it went back to a manageable ache for the past 5 days or so. My personal Dr. told Jackie and me that I have liver cancer on Monday after viewing the specific blood work.  She is a believer and she asked if she could pray for me at the end of our appointment and she prayed a beautiful prayer on my behalf."  

The Watchmen are VERY sad to announce the passing of our Bass Singer Emeritus, Mr. Dave Yake around noon on Wednesday, Feb 12th 2020. Dave was an integral part of the Watchmen for over 40 years and had to finally leave the group when his health declined due to several strokes. He is gone but will not be forgotten. His pains are over and he is Home with the Lord he loved and served.

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Sept. 1st 2019...The Watchmen continue to request prayer for Lena Succi, the wife of our bass guitarist Nick Succi. She has been experiencing complications from the cancer and chemo. Nick informs us the cancer has gotten progressive with some internal blockages developing and the current chemo regimen is being altered to something new. Please continue to pray for both Nick and Lena. Nick has not been able to be with the quartet for some time as he continues to support Lena with multiple weekly trips to Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST -

Dear Watchmen friends,

We are asking for prayer for Lena Succi, wife of our wonderful bass guitarist, Nick Succi. Lena has recently begun her 3 round of chemotherapy in her ongoing battle with cancer. She is handling this with grace and charm but is suffering the effects of the chemo. Please uphold both her and Nick at this time in your prayers. Prayer changes things!!

June 1st 2015 UPDATE - We are thrilled to report that Lois completed her 6 chemotherapy treatments on May 14th and is now working at gaining her strength back as the chemo drugs leave her body. We are so grateful to the Lord for his hand of blessing on touching her body and giving her much improvement in recent weeks. We're also SO grateful for all the prayers of the saints who held her and Doug up daily. The days ahead are looking brighter as we now take aim at having her on our Watchmen cruise to the Lands of the Bible in October 2016...which happens to co-incide with Doug & Lois's 40th wedding anniversary!!

March 20th - UPDATE - Lois has now passed the halfway point of her chemotherapy treatments. It's too soon to truly know the outcome but things are progressing satisfactorily, though not without more pain and nausea this time. Lois was able to attend the wedding of Bradley & Brittany and it was a wonderful day. Please continue to remember Lois, Doug and their family in your prayers. It is VERY much appreciated.

Jan 31st - We are praying for Doug's wife, Lois, at this time. She has, just this week, begun a new round of chemotherapy treatments for her Stage 4 cancer that has come back. Her last treatment was back in 2012 and she has been doing reasonably well until this past month or so. Please uphold Lois and Doug at this time. Their youngest son, Bradley (23) is being married on Feb. 7th to a lovely young Christian girl, Brittany Lawson. They are excited about the wedding. Please pray that Lois will have good strength for the wedding day especially.