Lou Witham Passes Away

[14-H]

I guess I am the bearer of bad news today. I received a call from Bobby Laws: Lou Witham, Terry Witham's dad, from Indiana, passed away today. I have no other information than that.

Lou and Terry worked together as father and son for nearly 30 years in the Modified Category, along with Harry Brinkman, and garnered many APBA National Titles and Records. The Team "All Reddy Gone" hailed from Indianapolis and were regulars on the IOA circuit for years. Lou survived both Terry and Harry, both of whom passed away last year.

May God grant Lou eternal peace. Ed Hearn.

[RandY Aveline]

In memory Of Lou Witham lifetime member of I.O.A.

this picture i took when i was approx 12 at the 1968 N.O.A nationals in Portsmouth Ohio

Lou is in the water working on the left on the H-12 Desilva runabout he bought from lee elder it was his first good c-d runabout

others in the picture are Leon Kincaid former I.O.A officer and seated on the far right is Dick Aveline also former I.O.A. Officer

sorry to say it is the only picture of lou i have at this time !!

He is Finally at rest he suffered for several years with a stroke!!

R.I.P Lou

regards
Randy Aveline 23-H

[14-H]

Lou was one of my favorite "quiet people" at Modified races. He knew more about engines than most, but you had to gain his confidence to hear about it. Lou was one of the many Mod guys who accepted this "Stocker" at their races.

He was a true competitor who lived through his son's accomplishments.

[meanred]

Race In Peace

We will all miss Lou. He was at almost every IOA race for over the past 30 so yrs. He was alway there to give advise if you would listen to him. You could ask him something and if he did not know the anser he had a phrase he would say in "Lou style" ( Hell I don't know ) I will never forget that.

Jim, Barb And Jimmy
7-M
Parker Robb Racing

[modhydro]

Lou Witham

Sorry guys. I had put up a posting last night but must have just hit preview instead of post. It had been a very long couple of days......

Lou passed peacefully surrounded by several close friends. He had a heart attack on friday and never regained consciousness.

I will do my best to have the arrangements sorted out later today and get them posted. It has caught me a little off guard this suddenly, but he and I had talked enough about his wishes to know what he wants.

I'm not sure if open exhaust is allowed in heaven or not, but with the Lou, Harry and Terry team back together, everyone else will be in trouble!
Donna just asked, "but would it be heaven if there wasn't??"

Thanks for all of the calls of support and prayer while we were in the hospital with Lou. We relayed everyones kind words to Lou while he was still with us.

Steve Roskowski

[Jeff5P]

Our hearts go out to all of Lou's extended family. You have our deepest sympathy.

And Donna is right. There are pipes in heaven. If not Lou, Terry and Harry wouldn't stay.

Jeff and Mary Williams

[brian]

This last year I had the privilege of spending some quality time with Lou. From helping him sell/me buying parts to working with him in the shop. I have always found it time well spent with people who have spend way more time than me thinking about making boats go fast and Lou was one of those guys.

Lou was the classic male figure we just don't see anymore. From smoking unfiltered cigarettes to not filling a law suit against a women who plowed into him while he was stopped at a traffic light. Luo was a class act. He spoke when spoken to and said what needed to be said and not much else. A wise man listens first then tells you what he knows second.

I have a couple of great Lou stories when you see me just ask.

Peace be with you Lou.

[Dave M]

Dynasty

The racing dynasty is now complete in Heaven. Terry, Lou and Harry are once again making serious noise up there on the water in the sky. I always thought of those three as the team. Lou truly loved boat racing as much as any man can. If he ever got mad at you for something, he would tell you about it, he did not hold back. I admired him for that, a true old school competitor, father, and mentor all in one. It was hard to not respect him, as he was one you just respected becasue of his actions. Not sure if my words make sense, but it is how I felt about Lou. He will be dearly missed.

I am sad I had to find out through the internet of his passing, but with modern technology I am sure it is the way most things will eventually be communicated.

Race in peace my friend... and tell our friends we say hey.

[Racing Fan]

May peace and love be with Lou's entire family.

[Brian 13-V]

Man with a Warm Smile

Knowing Lou since the early 90's, from Dayton and Wakefield, I was always treated as a "stocker" race buddy. Getting to know Lou better over the years, he always enjoyed making playful, little jabs at people he knew. After almost 20 years it didn't matter if I raced boats or raised goats or whether I was racing his son's mod engine... I would always be a "stocker".

Loosing his life-long best friend (Harry Brinkman) and his son (Terry) within the same year, Lou proved to be a survivor, with amazing resiliance and a positive, make the best of things attitude. Lou never lost his warm smile.

I miss Lou's son Terry and as a resident character of the IOA community, Lou will be missed.

B. Palmquist

[Tony Staron]

Lou, I'm going to miss you. I remember Lou in Kingston Tenn, making sure that Terry and I was behaving on the swing sets. So we could run our Midgets Champions at the Mod Nationals 1974- 75,76, 77. You guy guess right we were behaven. What a great asset LOU was to our Sport . My Lou Rest in Peace

Tony Staron 33F

[Phoenix]

Lou Witham's Passing

We just heard of the passing of Lou and wish to extend our deepest sympathy to Lou's extended family! Dale and I have many fond memories of Lou while attending IOA races. He was always a gentleman and someone you always enjoyed being around! Lou will be truely missed by all who knew him, may he race in peace! Phil Lundman 130M and Dale Ropp 47M, Phoenix Racing Team