10-12-2009, 06:02 AM
The memorial service for "Mister Cool Shirt" Rich Shafer was held yesterday in Riverdale, Ga and we had great representation from NASA (including Jim Pantas) and SCCA with members from SCR, CCR, TVR, AL, AR and the President of SCCA, Jeff Dahnert. It centered around his life and how he lived as an exclamation point. Reverend Jeffrey Halenza obviously knew him well and shared many stories about Rich and his drive, his sense of humor and his caring for others.
Rich's son told a number of stories about Rich...my favorite was when IRS audited Rich. The day after he asked Rich how it went and Rich said they didn't like some of his deductions. He asked him which ones and he said the ones for Nitrous Oxide. He used Nitrous in his hopped up street Firebird for fun. He asked Rich what happened and Rich said he argued with them about the deductions and finally, he stood up from the table, slammed his hand on it and said "Are you telling me that the US government is going to tell me what kinds of fuel I can and cannot use in my delivery trucks?"
Rich had a sign made up for every office at his work that read
"All things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23"
That verse was prominently displayed on his funeral programs. Under that verse was listed the survivors, wife, son, daughter, grandkids. The last two entries were :
Many Friends
SCCA Racing Group
He was a great guy, not a saint but a little bit of him will live on all of us that knew him. We have made up some small decals that read "82 Shafer" to put on our cars. If you would like one, let me know. I'll have some tuesday night and at Eurofest.
Rich's son told a number of stories about Rich...my favorite was when IRS audited Rich. The day after he asked Rich how it went and Rich said they didn't like some of his deductions. He asked him which ones and he said the ones for Nitrous Oxide. He used Nitrous in his hopped up street Firebird for fun. He asked Rich what happened and Rich said he argued with them about the deductions and finally, he stood up from the table, slammed his hand on it and said "Are you telling me that the US government is going to tell me what kinds of fuel I can and cannot use in my delivery trucks?"
Rich had a sign made up for every office at his work that read
"All things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23"
That verse was prominently displayed on his funeral programs. Under that verse was listed the survivors, wife, son, daughter, grandkids. The last two entries were :
Many Friends
SCCA Racing Group
He was a great guy, not a saint but a little bit of him will live on all of us that knew him. We have made up some small decals that read "82 Shafer" to put on our cars. If you would like one, let me know. I'll have some tuesday night and at Eurofest.