Newest update. Here is the memorial service and donations to Angela Witt, Chris's wife and family.

Hi Mark, wanted to let you know, Chris's memorial will be Tuesday August 9 @11:30. Please come and Celebrate Chris's life.
Trinity Lutheran Church, 501 W Saginaw, Lansing

Angela Witt
1303 W Miller Rd Lansing, MI 48911-4856

 

I have set up a site for memorial donations.

http://chriswittmemorialfund.mydagsite.com/

Chris's wife Angela is the beneficiary.

Unfortunately, the first site that I tried claimed to be no-fee but had other problems. This site does extract a small percentage (someone has to pay for the web hosting and admin) but it was a lot less of a burden. Please feel free to provide this URL to others. Thanks.

 

Thank you for setting this up Joe.

 

Thanks to both Mark and Joe for keeping everyone informed.

 

Thanks for posting the info / update.
b

 

Thanks Guys.

 

Thank you Joe. I have not really thought about a whole lot else since I heard the news. Never met him and only spoke on the phone a couple of times, but for some reason this one has hit hard.

 

Same with me, never met him but i did speak to him on the phone and sold him a couple of items. I was out working on my Olds all day, and Chris was on my mind. He seemed to be a great guy. This loss spreads wide. Again RIP Chris, and my condolences to his wife and family.

 

As I said on the funding site. From what I know of Chris Witt, I believe he was the type of person who would be petting his new friend at the gates of heaven. ( the dog that ran in front of him). From how he overkill packaged parts he sold to how he took the time to document all the information he did and put it out there for future Olds people to find and at the same time not neglect his wife you can't help but see the kind of man he was or his wife. Please keep her in your prayers as she lost the love of her life and she allowed him the time to help so many of us be informed in all things Oldsmobile.

 

Thanks for the update and the donation site. The news of Chris's passing continues to weigh heavy on me.

 

So sad to her we lost another Oldsmobile Brother and important person to the industry. May your road be straight and your pedal to the floor !

 

Bump

 

a-gain


Thanks Joe for doing this

 

I sold my Harley a couple years ago after riding it for over 47,000 miles & 18 years without crashing. I know I'm a good rider but there are so many idiots(& wildlife) on the road today I knew my number was coming due. I hate that Chris was taken out like that & it hit me hard also.

 

Dang near met the fund goal too. That's nice.

 

I've had three close friends killed and a few more injured on bikes. Doesn't matter who's fault it is - you lose.

 

The goal is almost met. Thanks to all for contributing. Thank you Joe P for the memorial site. Nice Memorial yesterday. His whole family wore socks with sandles. That is what Chris wore all the time. Shared some nice stories. Angela thanks all for the love and kind words about Chris. I have gathered up the condolences and passed them on to her in word format. Met some of his local Oldsmobile buddies. Thanks ton Randy, Joe M, Willis and Mike Hall. He will be missed. Thanks again from me and his family.
Regards Mark Prince

 

I am amazed by the generosity of the Oldsmobile community. The goal on the memorial fund was arbitrarily picked by me; there's no significance to it other than I had to pick a number when I activated the site. The fact that contributions have just about hit that number in less than three days is amazing. I wanted to share the brief note I received from Angela:

I'm going to let the fund run through the weekend, then the funds will go to Angela and the family. Thanks again to all.

 

Thanks to Joe P for setting this up. Just because the goal he set is reached doesnt mean you cant donate. I think its great but Im sure the family can use all they can get,so kep it coming.

 

Do you think it would be a good idea to up the goal? To not deter people from donating?

 

I can do that. The site will keep accepting donations after the goal is reached. I hadn't considered the psychological impact, however.

 

442 million dollars
new goal

 

I have a Harley. Have had one for years. Re-evaluating. My Dad died on his. You'd think.......

 

I hope to see the donations hit 10k or more. I know Chris went through some tough times when he was let go from his job, I recall posting in the thread. I'm sure this will help out his wife. Chris gave so much here.

Cheers
Eric

 

I sold all my toys when my kids were young. As soon as the youngest graduated from HS I bought a Harley. My wife and I love it. Now we are grand parents for the first time. I, like you am reevaluating.

If everyone has the means to just contribute a little, 10k is not out of the question.

Rick

 

Why was this moved fron the General section? I believe it gets more views there and more the better.

 

It was moved to the new "In Memoriam" section, it will get the same amount of views as most people click on the "New Posts" tab and it will pop back up whenever there is an update.

 

Funny. I waited until my youngest was 19 before I bought my last bike. Didn't have one for a long time because the kids would have freaked because Grandpa bit it on his. Now they just tell me, "Please be safe."

I saw the Memorial has stalled at $5239. Shame. I donated what I could. I guess others did too.

 

Chris Witt Obit page 1



Chris Witt Obit page 2



Chris Witt Obit page 3



Chris Witt Obit page 4

 

Chris Witt Memorial Service page 1



Chris Witt Memorial Service page 2



Chris Witt Memorial Service page 3



Chris Witt Memorial Service page 4



Chris Witt Memorial Service page 5

 

Thanks, Mike.

Those make me sad.

How was the service?

- Eric

 

The Service was nice. It was pretty warm in the Church. I was thankful to meet with Angela and their kids. Lots of good stories from family and friends. Angela was very thankful for the Olds community and their words of comfort.

 

WITH rue my heart is laden For golden friends I had,
For many a rose-lipt maiden And many a lightfoot lad.
By brooks too broad for leaping 5 The lightfoot boys are laid;The rose-lipt girls are sleeping In fields where roses fade.

Housman

 

Hi, I am Rocketette, its been my moniker since I married the Rocket Scientist. I joined the forum, so that I may properly thank each and every one of you. Mr. Joe Padavano, Marc Prince, Mike Hall, over the years, each of you became a personal part of Chris' life. This entire community was Chris's world. He spent many hours here. It is apparent, by the outpouring of kind words and generous donations, that Chris got to each of you too. It has become my mission to make sure that all that Chris treasured, not be lost to the world. I have a friend working on Octanias databases. I plan to make public all that he documented. It will need a clever name. There is much to do, Chris has a ton of stuff.

Praises and God bless each of you for your amazing kindness. Chris would be so happy!

Peace and Oldsmobiles,

Angela Witt aka Rocketette (rockit-ett)

 

God Bless you Rocketette and your family. Chris had more "brothers" than he could have ever imagined. What a valuable commodity Chris' work will still be to the Oldsmobile community and thank you for carrying on his labor of love.

 

Thank you for the update, Angela.

We all miss Chris very much, though not a tiny bit as much as you must, and I hope that our small effort has done just a little to console you and the rest of the family.

Stay well, and thank you for your work to preserve Chris's collected information.

- Eric

 

Thank you for checking in and updating us on long term plans for the work Chris did for the Oldsmobile community. All of us have benefited from his contributions...whether we know it or not. His presence on this forum is sorely missed!

God Bless
Tim

 

Angela,

Thank you for your thoughtfulness in this time of loss. Chris touched countless people in the online Olds community from the first day he subscribed to the Chebucto Oldsmobile list with his Michigan State University email address in the 1990s. He was such a helpful resource for both advice and parts, and a source of incredible humor as well. I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times in the late '90s when I visited Lansing and he was much the same in person as he was online. As bad as we all felt when we heard this tragic news, I can only imagine how it has affected you. If you ever need us, for help or just a shoulder to cry on, you know where we are. Be strong.

 

Rocketette,

With Chris's passing, it was another reminder that we have to be good to each other. We never know when friends and family will move on to the next journey. I yearn for another conversation with him as too much time had passed since we last spoke.

Thank You for helping to finish up Chris's work. I know he would be proud of you for your part, making that happen.

Looking forward to seeing some of that work!

Best Regards,
Mike Hall

 

Thank you Angela.