Good Friend Joe Whelen Is Riding in Heaven

[Nessism]

A friend called tonight informing me that Joe died a couple of days ago in a bicycling accident. Very sad indeed. He was a "giver" to many on the forum here and an honorable man. Words escape me at the moment but what I always remember about him was how much he loved his daughter. Below if one of the photos he posted of her and who could help but love something so adorable? I'm sad that she will grow up without a daddy now.

https://dentonrc.com/news/bicyclist-killed-after-being-hit-by-a-train/article_2d95963d-d38c-563c-b817-951a34fd6cab.html

[Guest]

Are you kidding me?!
Damn, many dealings with him. Good Man
RIP

[trevor]

Oh my...so sad. We have sold each other parts and I always loved dealing with him. Great guy. So sorry for his family.

[chuck hahn]

Thanks Ed so much for making the post and for your so kind and comforting conversation. Im typing with blurry eyes as I still cannot reconcile my shock and grief. Ive known Joe in many a parts lot deals, knew his dad somewhat ( Joe would sometime bring dad along when i found a stash ). What i know of him takes so many adjectives to capture his essence....and Im pretty sure I dont know every word to accurately do him full justice.

In my personal experiences with him I found him to be these:
Honest
Caring
Patient
Calm
Unconditionally unselfish
Humble

I will try to post any services information and have asked his business partner to keep me in the loop. He will be REMEMBERED by many many folks for an extremely long time. I would like to close with a Chinese Proverb..
" NO PERSON is truely dead until the last person that has EVER known them is also dead" In this regard its safe to say that Joseph Patrick Whelan is gonna be here for a very very long time!

God bless all members here and may we all pause to know we must realize how wonderfully blessed we are each time we are privledged enough to draw another breath. God bless Joe, his family, and those feeling this sting tonight.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/cyclist-killed-by-denton-county-transit-authority-train-identified

[cowboyup3371]

I'm sorry to hear about this; it's the second issue in almost as many days as a co-worker died in a hit and run this weekend

[Nessism]

In case it's not obvious, Chuck is the friend that informed me. I wasn't sure he wanted to be known as the one that broke the news thus my omission of his name in my original post. Anyway, Joe will be missed. He project bikes were always above reproach, the only way he seemed able to do one.

[Rob S.]

Oh my...so sad. We have sold each other parts and I always loved dealing with him. Great guy. So sorry for his family.

Ditto. I don't remember if it was side covers or whatever, I have dealt with him. One of the pillars of this community.

But that daughter...

Is it better to have loved and lost or never to have loved...?

So sad. My condolences to his family.

[Guest]

This is very sad news to read, my condolences to those that knew Joe. I only knew him from his posts and never had any dealing with him, but he seemed like a stand up guy. Prayers for him and his family, it's really sad to see a young child lose a father. Does anyone know what happened? When I was a kid in Jr. High my my bike slipped on a set of rails and I went down hitting my head and saw stars. The many other times after learning how to cross properly, I never made that mistake again, but there never was a time I didn't know of the presence of a train near by. They vibrate the ground and aren't the quietest of things. Was he wearing ear buds or something?

[chuck hahn]

See the link in my post.

[dorkburger]

Sad news indeed..

[chuck hahn]

He was just up here in Norman about 3 weeks ago and we loaded up his truck with a bunch of mid 70s CB750 tanks and a huge box of NOS Kawasaki H1 gaskets, bearings, engine cylinder stud kits, a pile of carbs and a 4 into 1 Supertrap pipe for a 82 / 83 650 nighthawk I had squandered away. We were gonna collaborate on a project of which i was very excited...which may still happen with his business partner. BUT, as I told him on the phone tonight the focus is about the shop, the employees, and the many tasks that lay ahead.

[alke46]

So sorry for the loss of what apparently was a great person. I only knew of him through this forum but I feel like we are all family.

Chuck, I am especially sorry for your loss.
RIP Joe.

[steve murdoch]

This is awful.
As others have said, bought and sold a couple parts from him and the dealings were always smooth and easy.
He would offer help and info to go along with the part. Even had some small exchanges through a Honda site.
Agreed, humble is an excellent word to describe him.

[storm 64]

Wow, this is sad news. I did not personally know Joe, but I'm sure he was a stand up guy. Perhaps someone that knew him personally could start a collection to give to his family from GSR...

[GSXR7ED]

How sad... and tragic. Ear buds found near the scene; that is really unfortunate.

Sorry for your loss.

Ed