God Bless Crazy Wayne


Laura Becker

Crazy Wayne

As I sit here to write this, I can't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. I am 24 years old and I just lost my father less than 3 months ago in a car accident. It is still unbelievable to me.

When I was a little girl, I think I was 4, my family and I went on vacation. During this vacation, my father and his friend got into a little trouble in a restaurant (bar) and were arrested. Nothing major, just drank a bit too much. Anyway, to make a long story short, when the police came to take my dad, I screamed and cried "I want my Daddy!" The policeman was very nice and said that my daddy would only be gone a couple of hours.

Now that I've lost my dad, I feel like that little 4 year old girl screaming "I want my daddy!" I can't believe that my dad is gone. He was only 50. My father was one of the most intelligent people I'll ever knew. He worked as a body man on cars for about 20 years. Just 6 years ago, my father started his own business in our backyard. He serviced all sorts of power tools. He went from hardly making ends meat to making over $96,000 just last year. Luckily, also just last year, my parents got to celebrate their 25 anniversary, and my father's 50th birthday. I am the oldest in my family, with two younger sisters, the youngest is 16.

My father was known as "Crazy Wayne". He was haliarious! He was a man who fixed everything, loved classical music, read in-depth books from fixing cars to how the brain works, and loved to watch Beavis and Butthead. I have always had a very close relationship with my dad. So have my other sisters. He never got too angry with us, and if he did, he made it into a joke as soon as he cooled off. I loved my dad so much and have learned so much from him. He taught me to always think for myself and never to be intimidated by anyone.

I came to realize at his funeral just how many people respected my father. So many friends, family, and business associates came to pay their respects. Everyone always said he was the funniest guy they knew. In fact, his funeral was so "dad". The woman who did the funeral even made jokes which referred to my dad. Even at his funeral he made me smile.

I don't know why my dad had to leave so soon. No one can ever answer that question. I feel so sad that my children will not know my dad as a grandpa. I also feel so sad for my mom who is now a widow at age 46. I decided to put this memorial on the internet because my dad loved to surf the net and I know that no matter where he is right now, I'm sure he'll find this memorial. So just in case he finds this...

I love you Dad.

Laura


You can send email to Laura at [email protected]
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Crisis, Grief, and Healing: Tom Golden LCSW