We lost a Member today

[C Body Bob]

I just got a phone call from a mutual friend of Kevin Walsh. Kevin was a big C body fan. He had 2 beautifull fussies. A gray & a blue one. I don't think he ever posted on the site, but he was on here a lot reading our post. He was a big man. Nearly 7 foot tall. He was a tower rigger & travelled the country in his Dodge Cummins dually. I meet Kevin 2 years ago when he came by my house to get some parts. We hit it off imediately. He was from Alabama & always talked about going back home to be with his family. He found a house there a few months ago & bought & had moved back, but decided to remodel the house so he drove his RV down to Alabama & set up in an RV park while he was getting his new house ready. Then last month on a job site in Kentucky he fell & broke his hip. When a 7 foot man in his late 50's comes crashing down it can't be good. He got in his truck & drove himself back to his hotel & called another mutual friend to come get him & drive him back to Alabama. Our friend flew out there & took one look & said big boy you going to the hospital. Your in no shape to travel. Big Kevin was in the hospital in Kentucky for two weeks. He finally made it back home, but still was not able to go back to work. Apparently he was having some complications from his surgury or medicine & was admitted to a hospital in Alabama. He was released & went back to his RV & seemed to be ok. He & his neighbor where suppose to go to a lumbar yard this morning to get some flooring & Kevin didn't show. So the neighbor went to the RV park & found Kevin dead in his bed. Local authorities say no foul play & therefore no autopsy. Listing it as probable heart attack. I'm going to miss Big Kev. He was a good man. RIP big guy !!! I hope there's a Harley & a New Yorker in heaven for you to enjoy

 

[traintech55]

Beautiful memory Bob, sorry for yours and our loss. And I hope your final wish for him does come true.

 

[Fratzog]

My condolences. Sorry to hear the sad news.

 

[goldfish65]

Thank you for taking upon yourself to make this announcement for Kevin. You did a nice thing by sharing that he was known as Big Kevin not only for his size but his character. We just never know when we'll leave this earth, saying a prayer tonight for his family.

 

[Fury440]

RIP

 

[tbm3fan]

Sorry to hear. I can't believe he felt he didn't need to go to the hospital.

There is someone I know who is 6'5' and around 240 lbs. who has fallen twice and lived to tell about it. Once when his friends scaffold was not secure and came crashing down with him on it. Had to be airlifted by helo out since it was 2 hours to the nearest hospital out in the California Gold Country decades ago. Just recently he was showing a new Hornet Security guard some of the really cool stuff stashed down on the ship's 5th deck. Coming down the trunk first he was in the dark as the switch was on 2nd deck. So flashlight in use. Trunks are where you access the ladders to go deep inside the ship and generally you come down, walk around, and access the next. Well this trunk had a hatch in the deck to an isolated compartment and the hatch is usually closed. Not this time so as he stepped back to allow the other guy down he stepped into the open hatch.

Brutal. Went down backwards and hit every step with his left hip. Drove the head of the femur through the hip socket and shattered it. Took two hours with chain fall and litter to get him up and out to 2nd deck. Stabilized at the closest hospital till transport to the one he used to work at. Thirteen screws put in from the x-ray that I saw. Right when surgery finished a 3 pint hematoma broke flooding the site with blood. Chief of Surgery rushed in to stabilize. Next day a swollen leg and blood clots. One made it to his lungs but caused no trouble. All in all he cheated death 3 times in 48 hours. Didn't walk till 2 months after the fall.

 

[LeBaron1973]

Condolences from Australia.

RIP

 

[C Body Bob]

Thanks everyone. They said it was also possible he may have had a blood clot. That's why he was admitted to the hospital in Alabama.

 

[cantflip]

Sorry he wasn't a posting member, it sounds like he was a heck of a guy. RIP

 

[Golden Banana]

Hopefully we can all meet up in Mopar heaven and share stories with big Kev ...RIP big guy!

 

[C Body Bob]

We did indeed loose a good one. And I'm not just saying that. The day I met him he pulled up in that big Dodge Cummins & stepped out & I saw how big he was. He had a long pony tail & a long grey beard. Wearing work boot & jeans. A Harley Davidson shirt & vest. He didn't intimidate me because I see guys like that at the track a lot & have never seen them bother anyone. I reached out to shake his hand & it was like shaking hands with someone wearing a baseball glove. I have found that people who are themselves & not trying to be something there not are the best people to be around because they are genuine. About a year ago or so he called me up & said Bob what are you doing the next few days? I said well I'm racing this weekend the back to work Monday. Why do you ask. He started telling me about a pair of black on black New Yorkers in Oregon or Washington. He said they had a super good deal on the pair & they are in excellent condition. He said I'm thinking about buying both & flipping the one. I just need someone to go out there & drive one back while I haul the other on the dually. He called me two more times about those cars. He really wanted to go out there. My schedule would allow & I guess he no one else could commit to that much time off. I bet it would have been a blast. Kevin looked like one of the ZZ Top guys. It would have been fun pulling into a Dennys in two big black New Yorkers & a Dodge Dually & seeing the look on people's faces when they saw him come inside. Would have been priceless. The whole darn restaurant would have been looking at us

 

[detmatt]

Bummer! R.I.P. Kevin. Sounds like a helluva guy.

 

[65sporty]

Very sorry for your loss, to many people judge by appearances, and the way it sounds if you did you would have missed out on getting to know a really great guy. My thought's and prayer's are with you and his family in this hard time of mourning.

 

[Ripinator]

I just got a phone call from a mutual friend of Kevin Walsh. Kevin was a big C body fan. He had 2 beautifull fussies. A gray & a blue one. I don't think he ever posted on the site, but he was on here a lot reading our post. He was a big man. Nearly 7 foot tall. He was a tower rigger & travelled the country in his Dodge Cummins dually. I meet Kevin 2 years ago when he came by my house to get some parts. We hit it off imediately. He was from Alabama & always talked about going back home to be with his family. He found a house there a few months ago & bought & had moved back, but decided to remodel the house so he drove his RV down to Alabama & set up in an RV park while he was getting his new house ready. Then last month on a job site in Kentucky he fell & broke his hip. When a 7 foot man in his late 50's comes crashing down it can't be good. He got in his truck & drove himself back to his hotel & called another mutual friend to come get him & drive him back to Alabama. Our friend flew out there & took one look & said big boy you going to the hospital. Your in no shape to travel. Big Kevin was in the hospital in Kentucky for two weeks. He finally made it back home, but still was not able to go back to work. Apparently he was having some complications from his surgury or medicine & was admitted to a hospital in Alabama. He was released & went back to his RV & seemed to be ok. He & his neighbor where suppose to go to a lumbar yard this morning to get some flooring & Kevin didn't show. So the neighbor went to the RV park & found Kevin dead in his bed. Local authorities say no foul play & therefore no autopsy. Listing it as probable heart attack. I'm going to miss Big Kev. He was a good man. RIP big guy !!! I hope there's a Harley & a New Yorker in heaven for you to enjoy

Very sorry to hear of Kevin's passing. Sure wish I could have met him. Rest in peace, big guy. And my condolences to any and all who knew him and loved him.

 

[1978 NYB]

He would fit right in with us.....no problem.

Too bad we didn't get to meet him.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Sorry for your loss, R.I.P.

 

[68Nwprt]

RIP Big Kev, see you on the other side.

 

[furyus 67]

RIP, sorry for your loss Bob. Loosing a friend is always the hardest.

 

[1978 NYB]

I hope there are C-Bodies for all of us up there....

 

[Furiousone]

Thanks for the posting and sorry for your loss & his loved ones. R.I.P. Kevin. Now he can cruise forever.