In Memory of Kevin, Tools R US (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Eff. Just met him this summer. Had burritos. Did not see this coming. Something to be done to help? (Will read thread later) Tough.
 
today would have been Kevin's 60th birthday :frown:

so, in his memory, and honoring his faible for Costco, our after-dinner drink on the patio was a bottle of Veuve Kirkland šŸ„‚;)
 
Thanks Claudia for posting that. Happy 60th Birthday Kevin. We miss you!!!
 
Iā€™ve been away for a while, focused on an old stovebolt. First time in months I got on 80 tech today. Doing a long overdue front end overhaul on my 80 and found birf housing pitted pretty good. I skimmed a thread or two...

I learned a long time ago to sit up and pay attention when I came across that black and white pic of Jackson and the Vermont. And as is pretty typical for me, once I read Kevinā€™s post I stopped reading. Just like all the countless bits of wisdom Iā€™ve gleaned from his posts and pmā€™s over the years, I absolutely trust the simple fix Kevin suggested will do the trick.

Kevin was one of the first to respond to my very first thread on mud a decade ago. He walked me through my cooling issue/fan clutch rebuild. Laughed at my ā€œparts cooking in the ovenā€ redneck joke. I was a total newb, and he made me feel confident and welcome.

Years ago I happened to run into Kevin on a trail in the middle of nowhere southern Utah. He was leading a group up from AZ ā€œthe back wayā€ to Moab. It was like meeting a celebrity. What a character...

My wife came out to the shop tonight. Asked what I was doing. I told her was painting the birf housing to fill in the low spots, a fix somebody recommended on mud. ā€œThat smart guy you talk about that we met on the trail that one time?ā€

I sat down later and went into 80 tech to do some more reading and noticed this sticky. What a shock. What a coincidence ....What a tragedy.

ā€œIf you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.ā€
ā€”Benjamin Franklin


...It seems Kevin did both
 
Last edited:
Haven't been in this section for a bit.... this is terrible news to hear.
 
Hello everyone,

First off, my apologies for the length of this message, but bear with me.

Itā€™s hard to believe itā€™s been nearly a year since we lost Kevin; world events have changed and shaped our daily lives in ways we never realized or imagined it would. With that in mind, and after much discussion about how best to approach doing something this year and whether or not that was even a good idea we all came to the same conclusion; Kevin would want to go wheeling.

So thatā€™s exactly what weā€™re doing. On Saturday, November 28th at 9am, weā€™re going to hit the trail with our CBs set to channel 4. To keep things scenic and inclusive to all 4wd vehicle types, the plan is to go play around on the Montana Mountain loop. If youā€™ve never been, itā€™s got fantastic views.

Here is the staging area, for those interested in attending:


We plan to roll out of the staging area at 9am.

As we all know, things are and will feel a bit different with regards to Covid-19 and its affect on the world today. Peopleā€™s opinions about COVID-19 safety vary and we ask that everyone respect otherā€™s approaches. If you are uncomfortable with proximity, feel the need to wear a mask, want to remain in your vehicle, or take other precautions we are not here to judge or dispute, but just to enjoy a day in the outdoors doing what a friend of ours would have loved. Weā€™re here to go wheeling.

The staging area and the trails around Hewitt Station can get a little busy, especially on a holiday weekend so please plan accordingly. We encourage you all to practice social distancing and act in a manner which is both comfortable to you and those around you.

Weā€™ll get on the radio (again, channel 4!) and let everyone know when weā€™re rolling out.


Richard
 
I can't attend in person this year, but since there are so many people around the world who were friends with Kevin and benefited from his time here on the forum, what if we took a picture with our trucks at 9AM Mountain time on the 28th and post it here? Include a note for his family, a memory, a print out of that post that connects you with him? A picture at that moment in time at the staging area, or a picture of you working on your truck, wheeling, "Step 6" in a repair process or at the overlook on the trail...whatever makes that connection for you? (9am might be a little early for step 6, but it's 5:00 somewhere!)
 
today, a year ago, Kevin died :crybaby:
 
Rest in Peace my friend. I miss you.
 
Pic from the meet for the Kevin Patterson Memorial Trail Run, 28 or so trucks, pretty good turnout:
JMS_9871.JPG


@richardlillard1 , our leader, ready to go! Thanks for setting this up!
JMS_9873.JPG


View at the top of the trail, everyone except that white '93 tailgunner:
JMS_9882.JPG


The mountain view:
JMS_9884.JPG


And the way back down:
JMS_9886.JPG


All in all, a great day! Sue did drive Kevin's truck, and she did great! I believe everyone had a great time in the Arizona mountains & desert!

P.S. By the way, plenty of masks, proper physical distancing, and all that. Sincerely hope we won't need that at next year's installment!
 
Last edited:
Can you go live or Zoom?

I loved the guy

unfortunately, cell phone coverage is pretty much non-existent in that area, and as mountainous as it was, even CBs or HAMs didn't reach far at all (and we had quite a few trucks without CBs/HAMs)

great trail leading by @richardlillard1 :cheers:
 
Pic from the meet for the Kevin Patterson Memorial Trail Run, 28 or so trucks, pretty good turnout:View attachment 2510984

@richardlillard1 , our leader, ready to go! Thanks for setting this up!
View attachment 2510985

View at the top of the trail, everyone except that white '93 tailgunner:View attachment 2510986

The mountain view:
View attachment 2510987

And the way back down:
View attachment 2510988

All in all, a great day! Sue did drive Kevin's truck, and she did great! I believe everyone had a great time in the Arizona mountains & desert!

P.S. By the way, plenty of masks, proper physical distancing, and all that. Sincerely hope we won't need that at next year's installment!
unfortunately, cell phone coverage is pretty much non-existent in that area, and as mountainous as it was, even CBs or HAMs didn't reach far at all (and we had quite a few trucks without CBs/HAMs)

great trail leading by @richardlillard1 :cheers:

I couldnā€™t have done it without a solid tail gunner and a moderator for the radio stuff! :hillbilly:

Toward the beginning of the run we had a series of introductions, Claudia did a great job of keeping us all going on that one.

Everyone had their stories about Kevin, when they met him, how they were introduced to the local Land Cruiser community, etcā€”several speaking of having met Kevin sometime in the last 15 years.

Then along comes Sue with the quote of the day: ā€œI met Kevin in 1977 or so and I liked him so much I married himā€ šŸ˜‚
 
Just wanted to throw a message up today to say thanks to Kevin, and his memory lives on in his posts that are still informing, educating and inspiring the rest of us. I exchanged messages with him a few times about things like front bearing preload and the fan clutch oil, and he was always so kind and giving with his time. I remember wondering why he would bother to exchange messages with me, we had never even met. He was just a kind person, I think it's fair to say. I miss seeing his new posts on this forum, and his humor.
Thanks, Tools, you're missed.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom