Hi, my name is Matt Wickham, Col wickham's son, Unfortunately Col has passed away, he died in his sleep on the 10th Feburary 2011 from a heart attack, he was 55 years old. He was an absolute legend to everyone who knew him, I hope those of you who knew him through this forum enjoyed his sense of humour and good character as I know he enjoyed spending time using the forum. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him, he was a great husband, father and most of all a great mate, may he rest in peace.



I would also like to ask if anyone can help me with a few oldsmobile questions, My brother and i took dads 72 cutlass supreme for its last drive today, to help my mum out with finances the car will have to be sold, if anyone can help me with an idea of its worth or possible connections could they please email me at mattwickham1@gmail.com

thanks

 

Wow, I am so sorry Matt. Thank you for letting us know. Your dad made the CO board a better place with his humor, insights, and news from down under. He will be missed.

I can't help you with the value question, but I know someone here will have helpful information for you. I wish you all the best, and will keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Matt,
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your father.
On behalf of car enthusiasts everywhere and anyone who has lost a loved one I offer the deepest sympathy.
I am sure that the members of this forum will do whatever they can to help you in this time of need.
Regards;
Rustyroger.

 

Wow! Terrible news.

Matt, I am very sorry to hear this. As others have already stated, he WILL be dearly missed around here. I often looked forward to his posts. He entertained us frequently with his insight and humor.

Duane

 

Matt,

My deepest sympathy and most sincere condolences to you and your family.
Your dad was a good person and a great guy, the best.
I know I'm a better person for having know him and honored to have called him
a friend.

 

X2 Richard

 

Whoa. This is a shock.

I am so sorry, Matt.
It was only a few days ago that he and I were arguing about politics.
I had actually grown to like him, though I'd never seen him nor heard his voice.
My deepest condolences to you and your family.

I'm sorry that I won't be able to help regarding values, as I'm fairly certain they are very different on your side of the planet.

- Eric

 

RIP Col Wickham,


God Bless the family.

 

Matt, I'm stunned and saddened. Classicoldsmobile has lost one of their best.

I remember when he was looking at the 72 which I believe came from Lexington NC- close by here.

My sincere sympathy to you and your family. We will all truly miss the man from the land down under.

It's like it's not even real. Our car friends are never supposed to die. I wish it were possible for you to keep the car and stick with us here.

Glenn
the Rocketraider

 

God speed Col.

Matt,I wish you and your family strength in this time and thank you for taking the time to tell us.

 

Matt,

So, so sorry to hear the sad news. I expected this when I read the title. Col. has been so good for the sight and it has been a pleasure corresponding with him in various threads. My condolences to your Mother, your brother and you; and any other family members. I hope we can help you guys in whatever way possible. This strikes so close to home for me as I too was born in 1955.

 

Matt,
I am in total shock this morning. So very sorry to hear of the Col. passing. He will be missed so very much by all of us.
Higgins.

 

Sorry to hear of your loss. My own father passed away (just 3 weeks shy of) 21 years ago, and I seem to miss him even more as I get older.

I'm sure you have a lot to think about right now, but if I may offer a suggestion: you may want to consider saving/printing screenshots (or cut-and-pastes) from some of what he wrote on this site to save for the future. This site (or its contents at least) may not last forever, and you may want to keep his "pearls" for when you need to hear his voice. I have NO letters from my Dad, only some birthday cards and the like he signed (even cancelled checks I'll never throw out), and I WISH I had something more than just memories when I wanted to "hear" him.

Sorry for being maudlin. Best, Scott

 

Very sorry to hear of your loss. He was a great part of the board.

 

Matt,
My heart goes out to you and your family. As I'm sure you already know we are better people to have been able to converse with your father. He will be sadly missed here on CO. His wit and humor where second to none.

 

Wow, you just never know. I enjoyed reading your Dad's posts and getting his perspective of things "down under". His sense of humor and insight will be greatly missed by the board.

Prayers for your family

Robert

 

Matt, my deepest sympathy also... This is very sad. Too sad i should say.
It was like he was the life if the party, then nothing. He will be missed but his spirit will live on.
You never know where life will turn so try to live it to its fullest as best as you can.
My dad passed that same way, but during a nap at work. He was only 54.
I am unsure of the car's value over there, other than it will be quite a bit!
I send my prayers and best wishes to your family, down under...

 

I can't beleive it. I'm in shock Matt.

Every morning, I got up to read his post in the "Good morning Thread" and usually laughed out loud.



With rue my heart is laden
For golden friends I've had
For many a rose lipt maiden
and many a light foot lad

By brooks to broad for leaping
The light foot boys are laid
The rose lipt are sleeping
where fields of roses fade

Housman

 

Wow, Matt, thanks for the notification and very sorry for your loss.

 

My deepest condolences. The Col will be dearly missed. He was a regular on the morning thread and will be missed.

 

Sorry to hear of your loss Matt, as many have said he will be missed by many and many of us had offline discussions with him. Many of us on this board have lost their father and it is never easy, I always thought I'd be old enough to deal with it, but I relized no matter how old you or dad are its never easy.

As for the value of the car you should probably start a new thread with some pictures and description of condition and options so that we can help your mom maximize what she gets. The majority can tell you what it could be worth here in the States but you will have to do a bit more research to see how much of a premium an Amercian Muscle car gets down under.

My thought are with you and your family

 

Matt I'm so sorry. I never met your dad but feel like I have just lost a close friend. We will surely miss his wit and jokes around here. He was a great fellow as I'm sure you know. I am so, so sorry.

 

I am very sad to hear this news. I enjoyed reading your dad's posts and the banter bewteen him and others here. His presence will missed. All the best to you and your family. '

Adam

 

very sorry,

 

I am very sorry for your loss. He will be missed.
Larry

 

Matt,

It's so sad to hear about your father. Too many times we are reminded of how fragile life really is. I always enjoyed your dad's posts and it is sad to know that we won't get the read them anymore. All of my best goes out to you and your family.

Value is a difficult number to assign. May I suggest going to one of the collector car insurance companies, or perhaps an agency, such as Kelly Blue Book or NADA or Edmunds, that assigns values on collector cars based on condition, and see what they say.

So sorry for your loss.

Deepest Regards,

Randy C.

 

Matt, Like everyone else has said. We all looked forward to what your Dad had to say. When we were complaining about the cold and snow he let us know what was going on there with the rains, floods, and cyclones. Kind of put everything into perspective. Your family will be in our thoughts and prayers.

 

X's 10 to everyone's comments above. You Dad was always an enjoyable read, and loved his sense of humor. He will be sorely missed. Our condolences to you and your Family.

Aron

 

I agree with the comments shared by other members. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers through this difficult time. John

 

Rip col.

 

What??? The Colonel is gone?? No, this can't be right. Oh my God. I'm sitting here crying all over my computer. Oh Matt, I am so so sorry. I feel like I knew him in person just from being on this forum. He had me laughing all the time! Oh God I'm going to miss him. I was wondering yesterday, where he was because he hadn't been on.

I am just shocked! We talked about so much on here. Everyday life and struggles, kids, our heart conditions, his remodeling project on the house. I knew he was on medication, but he hadn't complained at all about not feeling well or anything. Just complained about the heat over there most recent. God, I'm just sick. I truly loved him and my heart just hurts. What a great guy! What a sense of humor!
He started out on here by hijacking my car, lol! Remember that? He said his son helped him photoshop those kangaroo pics on my car. Oh God. I just can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. What a tragic loss.

My heart goes out to you and your family. I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers as you try to get through this. Unbelievable. He will truly be missed. I'm so glad I saved the picture of him that he posted on here. I am so glad he went peacefully in his sleep. I know he'd tell me "Sandy, don't be sad. It's a part of life", but my heart really hurts. I'll get to meet him in heaven one day I'm sure. I hope you have the chance to go through the forums on here and read some of his posts.

God bless you and your family. Thanks for letting us know, I'm sure it was hard for you.

 

Sorry for your loss - haven't been here long, but always read his news from 'down under' - he'll be missed!

 

Matt, My deepest sympathies go out to you and your family! There really isn’t anything I could say that will ease your loss or make sense the Col’s rotation to his next duty station. 55 Years old is way to soon to be taken from friends and family, and I know he will surely be missed.
I have always liked this native American poem, it meant a lot to me on my mom’s passing which seems like yesterday but is now almost 3 years ago
I give you this one thought to keep -
I am with you still - I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in the morning's hush
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone -
I am with you still - in each new dawn.

Eddie

 

As others have stated, this is a shock. I am sorry for your families loss and I will pray for you. Every time he answered a thread I knew he would have something funny to say. From this side of the computer he always seemed fair and funny. He will be missed. RIP.

 

The Colonel would have liked that poem! Very beautiful and fitting.

Matt..... Is there an address we could get to send cards or something? I would like to do something. He had a lot of friends here. Or if you'd rather not, that's ok.

 

Very sorry for the loss of your father, perhaps this site will help you determine the value of his Olds. If you need a U.S.A. zip code to begin a search, try 85302. (AZ)

http://www.nadaguides.com/

 

RIP my friend from Sydney, you will be surely missed!

 

I just looked on this site. The prices states there are not even close to what the car would be worth over here.

 

WOW! I'M SHOCKED! VERY SORRY to hear of your loss and as others have already said; he was a great man -- a true character we all admired and liked! Keep us posted about his car; we'll help in anyway we can; as many have said -- it should be worth considerably MORE over there than even in the States! I'm sure some of the fellow members from down under will gladly help out! May your Father Rest In Peace indeed! We ALL miss him for sure! Most of us never met him in person, but surely felt we knew him! This is a sad day for sure! My Deepest sympathies to you and your entire family. Best of luck!

John

 

I share these thoughts as well and will miss your dad greatly. We had great on line chats. It was easy to see that he cared deeply for his family. RIP my friend Col, you will be in my thoughts each time I log on

Pat (citcapp)