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I Went To A Memorial Service Today

SSuperDave

Badass 5.0 Owner
Senior Member
I hadn't posted about this til now, but one of my two best friends died in early November. He had polypsythemia vera, and it was under control for years, but last May, he had a knee implant, and they therorize it did something to his bone marrow, he ceased all red blood cell production and went from feeling weak to dead in two weeks, from acute anemia and organ failure. His wife and youngest son died about 5 years ago, and just last year, he reconnected with a woman who had been couple friends with he and his wife, whose husband had died a few years back, and at age 83, he moved to her ranch in Grass Valley CA. I've never seen him happier, and was glad for them both. They headed off cross country, having adventures the whole way, and had six weeks of bliss together before he got sick and died. He had a huge car show/friend circle here in Houston, and only his sister knew, so imagine my shock when I found out from her. He wanted to keep it private, and if you knew him, you'd understand.

I met Gary in 1992 when I was at David Taylor Cadillac-Buick, when he brought a sick Grand National in for service. We just clicked and were friends since. We drank an ocean of beer, and ate an entire feedlot worth of steers in the form of BBQ, and went to enough car shows that the awards would cover the Great Wall... and now he's gone. My ex wife used to say "Gary is 75, looks 45, and acts 15!" and his wife would just shake her head and smile!

My son has known him since he was a baby, he went with me to the service and I held together very well. We then went to a hole in the wall BBQ joint where Gary and I had eaten many times and thats where I broke down. I had to go out into the parking lot for while. My son was a bit shaken up, he's never seen me lose my composure ever. I cannot tell you all how I've struggled with this loss.

Gary loved white cars, and always joked abot other cars being the "wrong color". My El Camino is going to be white, and I have ordered a white die cut vinyl row of letters about 1/2 high for the back glass that says A White Car For Gary.

None of you except for Alan F knew him, but I can assure you that he was our kind of guy! And speaking of Alan F, I sent him a very strongly worded e-mail forbidding him to EVER fucking die!

Thanks for enduring the long read.


RIP Gary Bartlett, 6-20-41 to 11-2-24, you'll ride with me always.
 
It always sucks when someone close dies.
Believe me, we all know. It’s hard but, we all have to keep going, keeping their memories is all we can do.
Sorry for your loss.
 
Hard part was he was gone before I knew it. Yeah, he was 83, but other than the PSV, he was the picture of health, and his dad lived and was active til age 98, so no one expected this.
His dad used to drive a camper here from New York every year for a month around Christmas. I went to our shop at lunch one day for some parts and there was one of the plastic bottles of cheap bourbon with the handle on and a giant bag of Doritos on the table. When I got back to work, I called Gary and asked when his dad had gotten here, and he said "how did you know my dad was here?"
At age 95, he almost got us thrown out of Hooters because his dad patted a waitress on the ass!
I've got stories for days!
 
From reading what you said, and it was a great read!, I know you’ll be fine despite this terrible loss! As time passes the memories won’t decline but you will always cherish them!

When we lost my Brother-in-law in 2015, I struggled terribly as he was the brother I never had and he was always helping me with any project I had going, including helping me rebuild our house after the fire in 2008!

I didn’t really know how to say goodbye to him at the funeral which we kept very small. But my Sis and our families got through it.

It was the Memorial Service we had for him at their Church that was so amazing! That Church was absolutely smack full with friends and others who came to express their feelings for the man, who was truly loved and respected by so many....we had no idea! That is when I really lost it! My Sister managed to keep it together better than me that day!

Hold on to your memories....every day whether in the garage or in the house he is everywhere, seeing all the things he helped me with....that’s a blessing for me!

Hang in there!

John
 
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