Page 14 Austin Hughes Wiseman
SunBelt BMW Car Club
This column begins on the nights of November 25th and 26th, 2005, and 23 years ago. It starts, too, in Oklahoma City and Austin, Texas, and Chicago. It also ends on the night of November 25th, 2005, in Chicago. And maybe it doesn’t end at all.
At about 10:30 on the night of the 26th, chapter member and long-time BMW CCA national officer J.R. Schneider sent me an e-mail titled “Sad news.” In part, it said, “Please give me a call when you get this message… I need to…relate some news that would not be suited for email.” I was driving back to Oklahoma City from the Dallas area when J.R. sent the message, so I didn’t see it until the next afternoon. When I did, I called J.R. right away.
He got straight to the point: Sunbelt Chapter President Austin "Weismann" had been involved in a one-car crash in a park in Chicago on the night of the 25th. At that time it wasn’t clear exactly when the crash had occurred or who, Austin or a friend, was driving the 540i but it was apparently some time before a police officer found the car and called for the ambulance.
We learned later that Austin was the passenger and that the car had spun, backed into one tree, then slewed around into another one, hitting it on Austin’s side. Austin was pronounced brain dead at the hospital. He was carrying an organ-donor card and as a result, his heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and corneas went to people who needed them, saving at least three lives. I don’t remember exactly when I met Austin although it had to have been at a chapter event.
The first memory that stands out was when he recognized me in the parking lot of the Keystone Resort at Oktoberfest 2002. I didn’t expect him to be there but as usual, Austin was doing the tech inspection for cars that were going to the driving events. A year later, he and I would team up for the TSD rally at O-fest 2003 in Austin, Texas. We’d never done a rally together—he’d never done one at all— yet we managed to place mid-pack in our class and even hit one of the check points exactly on time.
Not long after that, Austin headed off to the Orlando, Florida, area to go through BMW’s factory training program for service (Continued from page 1) technicians. No surprise to those of us who knew him, he was exactly in his element there and excelled. His dream was to work on the BMW Formula 1 team.
Austin was usually quiet about his passion for BMWs but not always. I first saw the photo on page 1 (above) in the Hoosier Chapter’s newsletter. They didn’t know who the crazy guy in face paint was at that year’s US Grand Prix, but the photo was too good not to print it, so they did. I’m really glad their editor was willing to send me a copy. And that Austin didn’t punch me out for putting it in the Sonnenflecke. I promised him I wouldn’t use it again but
I have to break that promise: it captures the spirit of the man, even if it was a spirit not everyone saw. The quiet exterior hid a fire inside.
A couple years ago, several of us on the Board pressed Austin to become the chapter president. It was probably more than we should have asked of him but he was game. After a year, he wanted to move on but we convinced him to hang around for a while longer until we could put together a real election. Austin had to follow his dream, though, and earlier this year he moved to Chicago to work for Don Dethlefsen at “The Werk Shop.” And that’s part of how he ended up in a wrecked 540i on a stormy Chicago night.
On the Sunday after the wreck, J.R. called Mike Turek at Old Germany restaurant in Choctaw—a favorite of many BMW CCA members, Austin included—and in minutes they had a memorial gathering planned for Saturday, December 3rd, 2005.
Around 100 of Austin’s friends joined his mother Marsha, his father Ray, aunts Cindy Miller and Melanie Hughes, grandmother Ann Roe, cousin Andy Miller and his wife, and girlfriend JayDe Hayes, for an afternoon of memories. Don Dethlefsen came down from Chicago, too, and read an e-mail—a long, long e-mail—that Austin had sent to tell Don why he should hire him. In it, Austin’s passion for BMWs comes through laut und klar: “BMWs…just make me
feel something…Factory training was like going to Oz.” His story of his first ride in an E30 M3 had the audience laughing, many recalling their own first ride.
After Don had finished reading, Marsha said, “that was more than we heard in 23 years.” Yeah, that was Austin. Don quoted David Massey, one of his techs: “Austin was infectious.” That was Austin, too. Maybe the most telling story, though, was his dad’s. Ray was going to drive to Louisiana and had to take two-year-old Austin with him. How, he wondered, was he going to keep a two year old quiet and occupied on such a long drive? His decided to go to a hardware store and look for some inspiration. He found it in the form of a bolt, a couple of washers, and a couple of nuts. Problem solved. And when some of the pieces went missing before the return trip there was nothing Ray could do but find replacements. At the age of two, Austin had found his calling.
Austin’s F1 dream never came true but his final request will. Some time next year, with the help of Austin’s many friends, including customer Everette Surratt, and his former employer, Jackie Cooper BMW, some of his ashes will be flown the Germany for a drive around the Nurburgring. That’s where they’ll stay, too, although we’re not sure exactly where just yet. Maybe at the apex of the Karussell or one of the other special corners. The rest of his ashes will be inurned in his family’s home town of Muskogee, Oklahoma.
If there is a Heaven, and I know there is, I have a feeling Austin’s been taken down to the garage, where the wrenches never slip, the parts bins are always full, and some very special Bimmers need a little TLC. And now they’ve got just the guy to provide it. Gute Fahren, mein Freund.Auf Wiedersehen.
This is a letter from the man who received Austin's transplanted heart. A great letter sent by way of the donation organization. We and he do not have the ability to contact each other directly, but only thru the organization.
This letter is currently in a .pdf format. I will make attempts to convert it to a .jpeg and get it listed on this page. Below I have retyped the letter, just to get it out.
May 18, 2006
Dear Donor family,
Please accept my sincere sympathy for the loss of your loved one. On November 28th I received the giving gift of your loved one's heart. Thank you for the decision to donate life to me.
I am a 60 year old guy who lives in Michigan. I work as a sales engineer for a company that sells industrial equipment. I have three sons, Matt is an attorney, David is a race car engineer, and Neil is a student pursuing his MBA. My sons were very concerned and supportive during my illness, they are very happy I am here to share their lives.
My heart problems began in September of 2004. I had cardiomyopathy and my heart was failing rapidly. I received several different types of pacemakers and defibulators, the defibulator saved my life on several occasions. I began the process od getting on the transplant list in mid September and was actually on the transplant list for 21 days. My transplant went smoothly, my recovery has gone well. I gain strength each day.
I am delighted to have my life back! I have returned to work, I walk most days for exercise, am able to cut my own grass again, and will start to race my sailboat on Lake Michigan very soon.
I am very grateful to you and your loved one for the decision to donate life. I wear the green ribbon which represents life everyday to remember your loved one. I will never forget who made it possible for me to be alive every day. I thank you and God for the wonderful opportunity of a second life.
Thank you and God bless your family,
Richard
During September of 2006 Austin's mother (Marsha), some family and BMW friends went to Germany to spread the remaining of Austin's ashes at the Nurburgring F1 race loop in north central Germany. Marsha says it is a beautiful place and had Austin ever made it there he would have surely hated to leave... likely he would have remained.... now he does... along side the track where he always wanted to engineer BMW race cars to test their performance... now they race past him... almost daily.
Spring Lake man uses his second chance to help get organ gifts for others
Sat, Sep 15, 2007When you see the sailboat Heart Throb heading out to Lake Michigan for the Wednesday night races, Spring Lake resident Richard Seyffert wants people to know that the boat is not necessarily the love of his life. He said it is a reminder that he was given a second chance — and that other people should have that chance, too. For 17 years Seyffert, 62, had been a regular in the Wednesday night race series. But in late 2004, his health took a turn for the worst. By the next summer, the unthinkable had happened — he could not even compete in the last four races of the summer. The avid sailor, and president of Jarvis Handling Equipment Co., told members of Counterpart during a lunch meeting last week that he had never signed up as an organ donor. "And here I stand with a heart of a 24 year old," he said. Although life is still a challenge — Seyffert says he has to take a lot of medications to keep the heart from being rejected — he still appreciates the fact that he can do the simple things again. "I couldn't walk to the door," he said. "Now I can cut grass and race my sailboat." "I'm here and alive 20 months later," Seyffert said. "It's a wonderful thing." Seyffert's downhill health trip began in September 2004 when he had either a tiny heart attack or a gall bladder attack. By Christmas he was having trouble breathing and could walk only a few steps. "Things were out of sync," he said. "Then I got a pacemaker and life was OK again." But that lasted for just a couple of months. In March 2005, Seyffert started having breathing problems again and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. "I went into congestive heart failure any number of times," he said. "And I went on all kinds of medications." In June 2005, Seyffert said he received a "more fancy pacemaker" with a defibrillator attached. "The defibrillator went off 11 times one day in August," he said. That's when it was time to sign up for the heart transplant list. By mid-October, Seyffert had to move in with his sister and brother-in-law. "Life was literally slipping away," he said. In November 2005, he was in the hospital for transplant training. At that point, Seyffert said he was down to a 10 percent level of blood pumping with each beat — he said 50-60 percent is normal. "At 5 percent, the lights go out," he said. The call the Spring Lake man was waiting for came on Thanksgiving weekend 2005. It was 10:15 p.m. on Sunday. By 5 a.m. Monday, he was in surgery.Seyffert said he has been happy to be able to see the accomplishments his three children have reached. He was able to watch his youngest son, Neil, earn his master's degree at Northwestern University. His oldest son, Matthew, is an attorney whose firm, Rhodes McKee, is sponsoring an upcoming fundraising walk. And "yesterday (Sunday) I got to see David, my middle son's team win an Indy race," Seyffert said. David is an assistant race engineer and fuel engineer for Dario Franchetti, winner of Sunday's Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 in Joliet, Ill. "I have a new lease on life because somebody signed up for organ donation," Seyffert said. Thankful for his opportunity, Seyffert is taking steps to make sure other people get that second chance. He is promoting the first West Michigan Gift of Life Walk, set for Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Grand River Sailing Club clubhouse, located next to the Grand Haven Municipal Marina. Participants are asked to raise $20 per supporter for those walking to the end of the pier and back, or $10 per supporter for those walking through downtown Grand Haven. "But we'll take anything that we can get," Seyffert said. Registration is $10 per person and the walk begins at 9 a.m. Festivities, including a live steel drum band, will begin at 9:30 a.m. A free T-shirt is available to the first 75 registrants. Proceeds from the walk will go to the Lakeshore Transplant Support Group. The nonprofit group works to support those whose lives are touched by organ and tissue donation, as well as to provide information and education on donor awareness. Seyffert said the idea is to create more awareness of the need for organ donation, to sign up more donors, to raise money to help waiting recipients, and to generate more volunteers and support group members. People can register to become an organ donor by filling out a form that will be available at the walk, or by going online to www.giftoflifemichigan.org. As of January of this year, the state has taken over the Gift of Life listing through the Secretary of State office. The online listing can be checked by doctors as needed, rather than scrambling for a driver's license to see if "organ donor" has been checked. You will know you are a registered donor if you have a heart on your driver's license above your picture with the word "donor" next to it. If you do not have this label, you are not registered.
Seyffert recommends you do so at once, and not worry about your age.
