My friend, Don, passed this morning at 1:30 AM. He was a good man and will be sorely missed.

He was a retired minister in the United Church of Christ, and even though I’m a member of a local UCC, that wasn’t our connection. It was just one of those interesting coincidences because the real connection between us was a Model A Ford.

Don fell in love with Model A’s when he was young, he liked the styling but he was also impressed with the rugged construction and the willingness of the little Ford to always start, run reliably, and go anywhere it was asked to go. He always wanted one of his own. But there was always something in his way, something that prevented him from his dream. A family, another church to shepherd, it seemed like he was never going to have a Model A of his own.

Until 1998, when he bought a raffle ticket at a car show in the farming community of Sharon, Wisconsin. He won the raffle! The 1931 coupe was an older restoration but Don wanted a Model A that was painted a correct color, had a nice interior, and would be a presentable car to drive around to car shows and on Model A Club events. The restoration began.

Life has a tendency to throw a breaking ball when you’re expecting the heat and Don was no exception. A test determined that he had advanced prostate cancer and an aggressive treatment protocol was proposed.

His friends rallied to his side and told him they would finish restoring his car for him if he would agree to come back to drive it. Don beat the prostate cancer, but the treatment triggered Leukemia. When his medical staff ran out of options, they sent him home to spend his last moments surrounded by family.

One of the friends came to say good-bye and said to him, “Don, we had a deal. We said we’d restore your car but you agreed to come back to drive it!” There was a small patch of pink in Don’s cheek and within six months, he was back in the garage, working on his restoration. On December 20, 2003, the restored body of the coupe was dropped onto the restored chassis. Less than six months later, Don drove his coupe to Sharon, for the annual Model A Day show, the same show that held the winning raffle in 1998.

For two seasons, Don was able to drive his Model A on club events as he dreamed of doing. Sadly, he won’t be driving the third season. But somewhere, Don is enjoying a perfect Model A coupe, driving along a highway with no traffic lights, no potholes, no points to close up or burned out headlight bulbs, no needles, no MRI’s or CT scans, x-rays or an endless parade of doctors and nurses.

Honk when you drive past Don. We’ll be sure to wave.