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| RACING SCENE - By Tim Kennedy |
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Los Angeles, CA. - Funerals are not something people want to
attend. Sudden, unexpected deaths of friends or acquaintances make funerals a last chance to pay respects to the deceased and extend condolences to surviving family members. Patricia "Patti" (Noffsinger) Lee Reimer, 64, passed away suddenly Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. She had experienced severe headaches and walked into the hospital where she died from a cerebral hemorrhage. Patti was the ex-wife of sprint car and midget driver and owner Ace Noffsinger and the mother of three open-wheel race driving sons. Brad was born 8/29/60 and at 46 is the oldest son and perhaps best known. He was the 1979 CRA 410-sprint car rookie of the year. Bart, a year younger than Brad, was the 1980 CRA 410-sprint car rookie of the year. Todd was a 1982 CRA sprint car rookie who lost his life at age 19 in a sprint car crash 5/29/83 in the second turn at Ascot. He had climbed the wheel of a spinning car and flipped. He was beginning to climb from his overturned car when another car struck him. He was pronounced DOA at a nearby hospital. Brad and Bart were CRA main event winners and outstanding drivers. Brad, with sponsorship from State of California Lt. Governor Mike Curb, ran a full season in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series in a No. 98 Curb Records car. Brad also raced in USAC as well. He ran 65 Silver Crown events and won one USAC S/C race (on 10/31/99 at the ¾-mile paved Memphis Motor-sports Park). Brad started seventh and led lap 83-100 in his No. 40 Curb S/C entry. He had 21 top ten S/C finishes during his career and was voted 1999 Most Improved USAC S/C driver. He finished fifth in 2000 S/C point standings. Brad raced USAC S/C cars from 1991-95 and 1999-2003. He also raced sprint cars and midgets nationally. Patti and Ace divorced many years ago and both remarried. Patti and her new husband, Bill Reimer, a Los Angeles County fireman who worked at the north county fire station in Santa Clarita, lived near Tehachapi, about 60-miles east of Bakersfield on Highway 58. Patti's funeral was held at the modern-looking SeaCoast Grace Church in Cypress, CA, next to the backstretch of Los Alamitos Race-Track for quarter-horse racing. Officiants were chaplains from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Cypress Police Department. Patti worked in the office for that police department for many years before she retired. Eulogist was Bill Reimer, Jr. Soloists were Colleen and Morgan Reimer. Pallbearers were sons Brad and Bart, stepson Bill Reimer, Jr, Michael Noffsinger, Jake Reimer, J. R. Patton, Jason Wright and Matt Snead. Interment on a sunny, 88-degree mid-afternoon Monday, July 2 was at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress. Patti was laid to rest next to her late son Todd. A Cypress police motorcycle and Los Angeles County Fire Department fire truck led the procession from the church several miles to the cemetery. A solitary bagpiper played the traditional song "Amazing Grace" during ceremonies at the cemetery. A printed card given to mourners at Patti's funeral carried a poignant message that has significance for everyone who has lost a loved one of any age to death. It read: "I'll lend you for a little time a child of mine…..For you to love the while he lives, and mourn for when he's dead. It may be 6 or 7 years, or 19 or 46, but will you, till I call him back, take care of him for Me? He'll bring his charms to gladden you, and should his stay be brief, you'll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief." The inspirational message continues, "All from earth return and there are lessons taught each child must learn. Love for each child is not in vain. Shelter him with tenderness and love him while he may. And happiness we've known forever grateful stay. But should the angels call him much sooner than we've planned, we'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand." Many of the approximately 150 mourners at the church service and grave-side ceremonies attended the post-funeral reception at a church meeting room. Mourners seemed to be about equally divided from Patti's connection to police and fire departments and her long-time involvement with auto racing. Included in that category were: current USAC-CRA driver Rip Williams and his wife Becky, retired CRA driver Stan Atherton and his wife Diane, former CRA driver John Redican and his long-time CRA car owner Kathy Simpson, who flew to Los Angeles together from Phoenix, sprint and midget driver J. J. Ercse and his wife, 1940-50 era driver Jack Gardner, Sr and his wife, former CRA driver Jack Gardner, Jr and his new wife Nadine Keller Gardner, a sprint car driver and owner of the multi-car Black Widow Racing Team, ex-CRA driver and current USAC Ford Focus Midget official Gary McKeon, plus long-time CRA car owner, official and manufacturer Louie Senter, 86, and his wife. Long-time CRA official photographer Owen Richards flew from his home in Texas to attend Patti's funeral church service and then flew back to Texas immediately. Owen had remained close to all members of the Noffsinger racing clan to this day, even though he moved to Texas decades ago. Nadine (nee Keller) told me she was a police officer in Azusa for 13-years, but she quit shortly before her April 21wedding to Jack, Jr. Her Azusa PD superiors tried unsuccessfully to persuade Nadine to change her mind about quitting and remain a police officer. She said she is now a full-time homemaker. Nadine also stopped driving her sprint car for awhile this year to prepare for her wedding. However, Nadine said she will be driving in USAC-CRA soon. I asked Nadine why she chose No. 16 for her sprint car. She said it was for her favorite driver Danica Patrick who drove No. 16 for Rahal-Letterman in IRL and for Lyn St. James. Mourners included Patti's husband Bill, her two surviving sons Brad and Bart, stepchildren and 18 grandchildren, including step grandchildren and one great grandchild. Brad, who lives in Concord, N.C with his wife Robin and two children, works as a driving instructor for Richard Petty Driving Experience as he has done for about 15-years. He still speaks fondly of his long-time racing sponsor Mike Curb. The Republican former California Lt Governor, when Jerry Brown was governor, sponsored Brad's Jack Gardner Racing CRA sprint car initially. Then Curb sponsored Brad's NASCAR Winston Cup car as well as his USAC Silver Crown car. Bart, a USAF veteran, and his wife (a relative of the late CRA1960s-70s car owner Chuck Howard) flew in from their home in Maryland. They formerly lived in Lakewood, CA to the mid-1990s and relocated east because of Bart's aerospace job with Grauman Aviation. Bart, although it was difficult for him, spoke about his mom at her funeral. At the 3:30 p.m reception I spoke to Brad and Bart individually as they tried to visit with each person present. Both Brad and Bart are slim and trim and look at least a decade younger than their mid-40s actual age. Brad said Patti had a congenital condition that caused her headaches for the last seven years. She had received prior medical attention for the condition and that is why she headed to the hospital in Bakersfield when another severe headache reappeared June 26. Patti is remembered for her devotion to her family. She held her family together through adversities including the tragic loss of her youngest son Todd. She also retired from the City of Cypress early years ago to take care of her ill mother. Some of us remember Patti's love for Chevrolet Corvettes, including her white one with orange stripes. Other color Corvettes followed. Patti is a CRA participant/follower from the 1960s to the current era. Bart retired from racing to pursue his technical aviation career, but Brad raced regularly until about four years ago. He even reunited with Gardner Racing for a sprint car race at Perris several years ago. The large turnout at Patti's funeral, including out-of-state mourners, gives testimony to the esteem people felt for Patti and the Noffsingers. She is gone, but not forgotten. RIP Patti. |
