Timmens was born in Batavia in 1901. He was a linotype operator for the Batavia Times and the Batavia Daily News from 1932 – 1967, as well as writing a column for the Daily News under the pseudonym "Onlooker."

He was an avid fly fisherman, whose paintings have been published in Fly Fisherman magazine. A landscape painter, he was most often content in painting for his own recreation.

He was one of the founding members of the Batavia Society of Artists and taught watercolor painting classes. As a contemporary of Roy M. Mason, his fellow colleagues included Dick Ware, George Mahaney, and Larry Hopp.

Many of his paintings are on display around Batavia, including the Richmond Memorial Library. He died in 1990 in Louisville, Kentucky.