Tim grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, one of six children. His parents were part of large extended families and he numbers cousins by the dozens. An outstanding athlete, his first love is baseball and he treasures the memory of attending every inning of  the longest doubleheader in MLB history, when the Giants beat the Mets twice, the second time in 23 innings, on his birthday in 1964.

He married Suely Pereira of Brazil in 1983; she is an administrator in the New Rochelle school system. Their daughter Jennifer is a banker in Sao Paulo by day and food blogger by night. Their daughter Melanie is a classically trained violinist currently teaching and performing in Florida and other venues around the world. They recently became grandparents for the first time.