A memorial service for Steve Gooding was held on Thursday afternoon. Parked in front of the main entrance to the chapel were 7 NSX's - all cars that Steve had serviced over the past few years. The following is the text of the eulogy I gave for Steve during this service. Steve participated actively in NSXPO 2013. Many of you met him for the first time, after reading for years about this his tremendous contributions to the Southeastern NSX community through his knowledge and abilities to maintain and repair the cars that we all cherish.
"Most of you don’t know me. My name is John Komar. Many of us gathered today knew Steve from different perspectives. Some were close family friends, others were business associates. I come from that group who met Steve through his passion for anything on wheels – that moved and moved fast, and especially his passion for the car he loved most – the Acura NSX. We will all miss Steve – and especially for Petra, Trisha, Brooke, Ashley and Darin, I’d like to share with you the story of my friendship with Steve.
We met about 7 years ago when I purchased my NSX. We met by chance at a car show when Steve approached a group of us standing with our cars. He explained his history with the NSX that began in California where he worked for an Acura dealer when the NSX was introduced. Before relocating to Raleigh he had worked on many NSX’s that belonged to some of the famous people in the area including Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computer.
We all quickly embraced the opportunity to have Steve work on our cars and all developed a quick friendship. During the next few years Steve and I became good friends – fueled by our mutual interest, as well as my occasional need for maintenance on my NSX. My wife Terri and I met occasionally for dinner with Steve and Petra. We planned a few local NSX gatherings, and saw each other frequently at car shows. Over the years we became great friends.
Two weeks ago today that all changed. Steve and I became not just great friends, but more like brothers - during a weekend we shared enjoying one of the things we were most passionate about. Two weeks ago, here in Raleigh we had the national meet for NSX owners. In the weeks preparing for this event, Steve helped out and agreed to lead the Tech Session during this event. This is a classroom session for NSX owners who listen to knowledgeable NSX technicians discuss the various things about maintaining their cars.
On Thursday night – just 2 weeks ago today, the president of the NSX Club, Larry Bastanza along with Steve, my brother Dave, one of the other NSX owners and I went out to dinner. Larry is one of the nationally recognized NSX expert technicians. During dinner that evening, I sat in amazement and admiration as Larry and Steve traded stories back and forth about NSX repairs and unique situations they had both encountered. That evening will last in my mind as one of the most cherished memories I have of Steve.
Earlier that day I had called Steve to help out one of the NSX owners who was on the road and experiencing some mechanical problems. Steve immediately called this person, diagnosed his issue and reassured him that he could continue his trip to Raleigh without a problem. Later in the afternoon Steve drove by the host hotel, found another NSX owner looking for a place to clean his car. This particular person was from Hawaii and had shipped his NSX to California and driven cross country. Steve quickly made another friend, invited him home and helped him clean his car. The entire weekend saw this situation repeat itself as owner after owner met Steve, connected the face, the smile and the unlimited knowledge of the NSX to the name and reputation from the NSX Prime website.
Steve was that kind of guy you could always depend on, he had the answers, and not just accepted requests for help, but looked for the opportunities to help. During the weekend we spent together at the NSX event, there were countless times that Steve stepped in to make things happen. And not only did he help, but he got his family involved as well. During the opening registration he called his daughter Ashley to come over and assist – and then solicited his wife Petra as well later in the evening. Looking back, it made the event so much better, and our time with Steve and his family something I will cherish.
It is ironic, yet tragic that Steve was able to meet and make so many new friends over that weekend. As the news of Steve’s passing reached those who attended the NSX event, and had met Steve and shared his passion for the NSX – expressions of shock, disbelief and genuine sadness flooded the comments on the website.
I personally look back on that weekend with mixed emotions. Steve, Petra and Ashley shared with us a joyful experience throughout the weekend. I had the opportunity to know Steve, enjoy his company and appreciate him in a way I had not done since we first met. In one way, it was the perfect ending to our friendship – on the other it makes his loss so terribly harder to accept. There has been hardly a moment in the last 5 days that I have not felt the pain of his passing.
As we meet today to commemorate and celebrate Steve’s life, I encourage you all to focus only on the great times we have had with Steve. Terri and I commit to Petra, Trisha, Brooke, Ashley and Darin to help in whatever way we can to get beyond this loss.
In closing I would like to recount a statement made by one of the NSX owners on the NSX Prime website when getting the news of Steve’s passing…..
”At news of a loss as his family and we, as a community, have been shocked with, I can’t help but to fall back on my base belief that when we pass, we become the best of everything that we have ever been. Admittedly, we enjoy our lives as we have built them, but know, that life beyond our earthly embodiment is everlasting, and free from all daily trevails. Even though NSX’s “up there” are perfect, God will let Steve tinker with them to make them that much better….Bless your heart and soul dear friend, and thank you for our time together….” NSX Prime ID - Quix-Draw
"Most of you don’t know me. My name is John Komar. Many of us gathered today knew Steve from different perspectives. Some were close family friends, others were business associates. I come from that group who met Steve through his passion for anything on wheels – that moved and moved fast, and especially his passion for the car he loved most – the Acura NSX. We will all miss Steve – and especially for Petra, Trisha, Brooke, Ashley and Darin, I’d like to share with you the story of my friendship with Steve.
We met about 7 years ago when I purchased my NSX. We met by chance at a car show when Steve approached a group of us standing with our cars. He explained his history with the NSX that began in California where he worked for an Acura dealer when the NSX was introduced. Before relocating to Raleigh he had worked on many NSX’s that belonged to some of the famous people in the area including Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computer.
We all quickly embraced the opportunity to have Steve work on our cars and all developed a quick friendship. During the next few years Steve and I became good friends – fueled by our mutual interest, as well as my occasional need for maintenance on my NSX. My wife Terri and I met occasionally for dinner with Steve and Petra. We planned a few local NSX gatherings, and saw each other frequently at car shows. Over the years we became great friends.
Two weeks ago today that all changed. Steve and I became not just great friends, but more like brothers - during a weekend we shared enjoying one of the things we were most passionate about. Two weeks ago, here in Raleigh we had the national meet for NSX owners. In the weeks preparing for this event, Steve helped out and agreed to lead the Tech Session during this event. This is a classroom session for NSX owners who listen to knowledgeable NSX technicians discuss the various things about maintaining their cars.
On Thursday night – just 2 weeks ago today, the president of the NSX Club, Larry Bastanza along with Steve, my brother Dave, one of the other NSX owners and I went out to dinner. Larry is one of the nationally recognized NSX expert technicians. During dinner that evening, I sat in amazement and admiration as Larry and Steve traded stories back and forth about NSX repairs and unique situations they had both encountered. That evening will last in my mind as one of the most cherished memories I have of Steve.
Earlier that day I had called Steve to help out one of the NSX owners who was on the road and experiencing some mechanical problems. Steve immediately called this person, diagnosed his issue and reassured him that he could continue his trip to Raleigh without a problem. Later in the afternoon Steve drove by the host hotel, found another NSX owner looking for a place to clean his car. This particular person was from Hawaii and had shipped his NSX to California and driven cross country. Steve quickly made another friend, invited him home and helped him clean his car. The entire weekend saw this situation repeat itself as owner after owner met Steve, connected the face, the smile and the unlimited knowledge of the NSX to the name and reputation from the NSX Prime website.
Steve was that kind of guy you could always depend on, he had the answers, and not just accepted requests for help, but looked for the opportunities to help. During the weekend we spent together at the NSX event, there were countless times that Steve stepped in to make things happen. And not only did he help, but he got his family involved as well. During the opening registration he called his daughter Ashley to come over and assist – and then solicited his wife Petra as well later in the evening. Looking back, it made the event so much better, and our time with Steve and his family something I will cherish.
It is ironic, yet tragic that Steve was able to meet and make so many new friends over that weekend. As the news of Steve’s passing reached those who attended the NSX event, and had met Steve and shared his passion for the NSX – expressions of shock, disbelief and genuine sadness flooded the comments on the website.
I personally look back on that weekend with mixed emotions. Steve, Petra and Ashley shared with us a joyful experience throughout the weekend. I had the opportunity to know Steve, enjoy his company and appreciate him in a way I had not done since we first met. In one way, it was the perfect ending to our friendship – on the other it makes his loss so terribly harder to accept. There has been hardly a moment in the last 5 days that I have not felt the pain of his passing.
As we meet today to commemorate and celebrate Steve’s life, I encourage you all to focus only on the great times we have had with Steve. Terri and I commit to Petra, Trisha, Brooke, Ashley and Darin to help in whatever way we can to get beyond this loss.
In closing I would like to recount a statement made by one of the NSX owners on the NSX Prime website when getting the news of Steve’s passing…..
”At news of a loss as his family and we, as a community, have been shocked with, I can’t help but to fall back on my base belief that when we pass, we become the best of everything that we have ever been. Admittedly, we enjoy our lives as we have built them, but know, that life beyond our earthly embodiment is everlasting, and free from all daily trevails. Even though NSX’s “up there” are perfect, God will let Steve tinker with them to make them that much better….Bless your heart and soul dear friend, and thank you for our time together….” NSX Prime ID - Quix-Draw
Attachments
Last edited:
