Beth's tribute truck.

[Classic Heartbeat]

I thought I would post some progress pictures of the tribute truck I am building in Beth's honor. I started this truck before Beth (my wife) became sick for the last time. I spent three months in the ICU with her and saw her endure what nobody should have. She is the love of my life and is the sweetest, most kind hearted person I have ever known. I morn her every day. I cry still every day, 3 months after her passing. That's how deeply I love her. Anyway many of you followed me on Facebook through the time she spent at Oregon Health Science University Hospital ICU units. Many of you were very supportive and still are. Many have asked how you can be involved somehow in the build. Some have even came over to help, others have donated towards it in one way or another. Anyway that's not what this thread is about, it's about the progress made on her truck. Hold your loved ones close. WES

[Classic Heartbeat]

I promise that no OSHA rules were followed and only the scetchyist practices were applied.

[Classic Heartbeat]

That last picture is Grant Bolt. Owner of Matchless Brewing here in Olympia. Matchless will be coming out this spring with a memorial beer in her honor. Last year they brewed a beer for my label. I am happy to report it sold out almost immediately as is my hope for what they brew for Beth's memory.

[Bones72Super]

I hope it sells out too, very sorry for your loss

[FleetsidePaul]

I am so sorry for your loss Wes. I can't imagine the pain, or maybe i just don't want to.

My first wife passed away recently. And even though we had been divorced for years I still think of her every day now. She wasn't all that bad. It was just me being a jackass. I wish that I could tell her I'm sorry. But I can't. Not anymore.

I'd like to get some of that beer. My first beer was an Olympia. And I never slowed down after that. I liked it. I'll have to check out the website.

Hang in there buddy. I've lived through some very dark days. But believe it or not the sun still shines through them eventually. It takes time. But it happens. At least it did for me. If my daughter hadn't found me and called the paramedics I'd be dead. I overdosed on pills. I was so depressed and despondent. I didn't see the light. Only the darkness. I tried to check out but God didn't want me. Neither did the devil

Now life is beautiful.

[special-K]

That is quite a special truck. You've had your hands in building many trucks but I'm sure on this one it is very different. It gives labor of love a different meaning, to a higher level.

I rarely use FB, but I had popped in when Beth had first gone in and I followed your reports enough to see this was a very bad situation. I'm not sure if I ever posted but I will say now I was truly feeling for she and you. I'm no one to give advise on moving on, but I will say you still have yourself and all she gave you, moving on in life

[Dieselwrencher]

Wes, I also was watching and hoping she would pull through. I'm still sad for you and your family. I'm glad to see you posting her truck though. Was this a favorite truck of hers? What's the back story and are you restoring it to original or how she wanted it?

[LT7A]

Wes, I've not had the occasion to buy anything from you yet, despite the fact that we are nearly neighbors. However, you and your business have a good reputation here on the forum and I have heard of you several times that way. I'm glad for your project for Beth and I hope that it is a healing place to put your energy. I will look forward to following the build.

[Ol Blue K20]

Thanks for the pics Wes. I subscribed to the the build of the tribute truck. On a side note the steering coupler I bought from you was a nice piece. Thank you!

[Last_Paladin]

I am sorry Wes. I didn't know.

I do miss our Seahawks/Patriots banter on Facebook.

I am around if you want to chat.

[Stocker]

Wes, I can't imagine what you went through with Beth and are still dealing with to this day.
Building her tribute truck must be some of the best therapy to help you deal with the pain of loss.
I will be one of many watching the build. Best wishes to you.

[SCOTI]

Continue to share the thoughts on your loss.... That's what these sites & the people contributing can do to help w/the healing (and there are some fine people on this site!).

I look forward to seeing updates on Beth's TT.

[Getter-Done]

Wes
Your absolutely Right about holding
Your Loved ones close

I am subbed for the Tribute Truck.











.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Sorry for your loss. A heavy project is a good way to distract greif into positive energy.

[72 Super]

Wes,

My condolences. I had no idea your wife was sick. I know she is still there with you in a sense And truck will be a part of her that is still there. Can’t wait to see the completion.

Ray

[Carl Spangler]

Sub'd

Wes, thanks for sharing your journey with us.

[GJB]

Looking good with the front axel on it! I knew you couldn't wait. haha Looking forward to making the tribute beer in the coming months.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by GJB

Looking good with the front axel on it! I knew you couldn't wait. haha Looking forward to making the tribute beer in the coming months.

I hope you post the beer here. I want some.

[72Teeroy]

I’m truly sorry

[CC69Rat]

I'm sorry for your loss Wes. Hang in there brother. It looks like you've got a nice project coming together in her honor. Subscribed to follow the progress.

[Classic Heartbeat]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Wes, I also was watching and hoping she would pull through. I'm still sad for you and your family. I'm glad to see you posting her truck though. Was this a favorite truck of hers? What's the back story and are you restoring it to original or how she wanted it?

Thank you guys It's a journey I hope none of you have to endure. The pain doesn't stop and neither do the tears I shed.

The back story to this memorial (Tribute) truck started years ago when I bought my first 72 short bed 4x4. It as it turned out would be Beth's favorite thing to drive. She was only 5'2" tall and because the truck was lifted she felt bigger or at least as big as everyone else driving down the road. She preferred to drive that over the new car we had gotten for her. She just loved that truck.

Well finances got tight as they often do when you are a small business and there came a time I needed to sell the truck to stay afloat. She was sad about the sale, but understood why it had to go. I told her I would get another some day.

Flash forward several years and by this time Beth had came down with a condition called mixed connective tissue disorder. That is an autoimmune disease that includes rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibro myalgia, Sjogren's disease and Raynaud's syndrome. The only way to fight those diseases is with an army of medications. Medications designed to knock her immune down so it wouldn't attack her own body. Medications that did not come without complications of their own. So she took even more medications to stop the side effects and those medications came with their host of problems. It just goes on and on. The net result was Beth suffered with a lot of pain for a lot of years and that wasn't the worst of it. She also as a result of taking all of those medications that suppressed her immune system came down with another condition called interstitial lung disease. Interstitial lung disease is another term for pulmonary fibrosis. A disease where her lungs turn fibrous and loose their elasticity, essentially causing her to die of asphyxiation and that was how she passed. There was a whole lot more to this story than this but I am trying to tell why I am building this truck and why I am so passionate about it.

Anyway years had past and I found another short bed 4x4 and bought it and brought it home. I told Beth that I finally had found one that was worth rebuilding and so here it is. I did a few things to it, not much but I wanted to make it presentable in my parking area. Mainly I washed it and took the hideous canopy off of it. Then someone came along and offered me more money than I could refuse to buy it from me. He told me that he had been hunting one for many years and every deal he found always fell apart and he really wanted mine bad. So I sold it to him.

The next day Ben (my son) told me I had hurt his mom's feelings and that she had claimed that truck as her own and looked forward to me restoring it for her. Needless to say I was crushed! There is one person in this world I absolutely not hurt it was my wife. I wouldn't because I loved her and I wouldn't because she was dealing with all the problems and pain her disease gave her.

So that put me on an immediate hunt for another one for her. That is this truck. So I discussed with her what I wanted to do to the truck and she told me what she wanted. So the process of restoration began. I told her I was going to make this truck really special for her. That she deserved nothing but the best. I had been rat holing parts for many years in anticipation for this build and the time had come.

I stripped the truck down to it's bare frame and taken it to the powder coater to have it powder coated. Then my problem happened. I wound up in the hospital having to have open heart surgery myself.

I was on ventilator for three days after that and Beth was the first person I saw when I woke up. She was holding my hand and told me that everything was going to be alright. She stayed buy my side for the entire time they would let her. Strengthening our bond immensely.

Shortly after that I got her frame from powder coating and started working on it. Just over a month later Beth became ill again. She was in and out of hospitals 3 times before they medevacked her to Oregon Health Science University Hospital where we spent the next three months of our lives trying to make her better. After a horrendous, painful 3 months Beth told me she wanted to be with God and her Dad. She had endured far too much pain and couldn't do it any longer. So I told her Doctors, and then held her in my arms so she wasn't alone while the nurses administered the medication so she wouldn't be anxious and would go to sleep. They lowered the settings on her ventilator and removed it from he neck and I held her until she passed taking the biggest part of my life with her.

After the funeral and after some time had passed I finally started coming back around and part of the reason I did was I wanted to honor her. The best way to do that was to build this truck now in her honor. A truck that is great enough to pay tribute to the love I had lost that loved me so much.

I had documented most all of her suffering on my Facebook page as a way for me to cope with what I was experiencing and what she was going through. As I did that something happened. Undenounced to me she had created quite a following. Many people were genuinely concerned about her life and came to love her also. So when I announced I was going to build a truck in her honor, a truck great enough to honor her life people started contacting me wanting to know how they could help.

Now some like Grant Bolt who owns Matchless Brewing have volunteered time and donated money to the build. Grant who stuck with me through all of this even wanted to brew a memorial beer for her.

I accept help however it comes to me. Not because I need it witch I do, but because it shows Beth what kind of impact her life made on many people and how she is genuinely missed by all.

I hope she is proud of what I am doing and what many others will be doing for her in the future. When the truck is done, I will keep it in the shop with a car cover over it. The only time it will be driven will be to drive it to her final resting place and visit her. This is for her, nothing else. Not for show, not to drive around, but only for her, so that's what I will use it for.

Sorry for the long post and I cried through making it, but there you have it. Why I am building a tribute truck. WES

Here's a couple pictures of what I did today. I bolted her Redhead steering gear on.

[tim_mc]

GOD be with you Wes. Sending love your way!

~Tim

[DeadheadNM]

I’m on board Wes. Godspeed. Was good to talk with you.

[LT7A]

Wow Wes, thank you for telling more of the story. I know there's a lot more to it, and probably some that can't be put into words, but that post gives us so much more of the picture. Hard to read. Especially because my screen started getting blurry partway through. Even if you weren't doing something as cool as building her a truck, the way you talk about her says a ton about what you guys had and who she is.

[Ol Blue K20]

First, I'm sorry for the pain that Beth and you had to endure. Second I'm here to see the build or read your venting of pain when the need arises. Third, I consider you a friend that I never met in person. I'm here to help if I can. I'm watching the build in great interest.