Gone but not forgotten, these members have left us.
Sarah Marie Nodurft
a.k.a. Medic Nodirt
September 4, 1984 - January 25, 2012
It is with sad heart that I report the passing of long time member Medic Nodirt (Sarah). Sarah joined the forum in September of 2007. Through her posts and personal messages and discussions with Don Berkey, even though we never met personally, she became a friend. Sarah had a zest for life and enjoyed it with a gusto many of us never will.
She loved riding her GV650 and quads. In 2009 she and her fiance Rich Thompson took two road trips on their bikes, one to California and one to Florida from their home in West Virginia. Many of us followed along on their trip to California via her posts here and at her personal web site. I know that I personally was very envious of her trip.
Sarah had a grit and determination as well. She would not accept "good enough" and "no" wasn't in her vocabulary (at least not when directed towards her). Thanks to her dogged persistence, a flaw with the GV650's fuel delivery system was uncovered and brought to light and many have since benefited.
I am going to miss her sense of humor and her presence.
Sarah was a Paramedic with the Boone County Ambulance Authority and a member of the Spruce River Fire Department and Red Knights Motorcycle Club, West Virginia #3.
Well ACD, I have some sad news to report. I have been trying to contact an old friend of mine and a fellow forum member, OBXbiker, since February with no luck. I have contacted mutual friends, other forums' members, and every email and phone number I have and could find for him. All with no luck. In June I heard a rumor that he had passed away. I joined several websites to try and step up my search for him, but sadly saw his name and age on the Social Security Death Index. I have not been able to find anyone else to confirm this by an obituary or a family member, but after presenting the findings to the other administrators of this forum, we decided we should make this information public and maybe as a community, we can say our piece to a friend who greatly influenced this forum.
OBXbiker, known to a few as George Barlow III, loved living in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He knew the area's history, businesses, and people like he was county commisioner. OBXbiker was an original member of the ACD forum, way back when. During ACD's formative years, there was a lot of passion about how the forum should be raised. George felt it necessary to break away from ACD and establish another forum which would be more to his vision. Many members of ACD became members there as well and after a few years, George and Bill were able to mend some fences and welcomed each other at both forum sites. OBXbiker's forum has been offline since January 2011, which was another clue that something was terribly wrong.
As most of the "old timers" here know, George had 3 huge loves in his life. One was his son and family, one was his forum, and the third was Kymco. George had 3 Kymco scooters and 2 Kymco Venox motorcycles. He was and will always be the encyclopedia of Kymco knowledge. I was fortunate enough to get to know George in person and offline from the forums. His love of Kymco was genuine. Especially his love for the Venox motorcycle. He knew correct color codes, insider contact information, everything. In 2006, George asked me to customize one of his Venox's. It was a huge, secret plan during that time and George loved to make the curiosity grow with vague postings and teaser threads. In December, I drove from Mobile, Alabama to OuterBanks, North Carolina (over 1,000 miles) to collect his black 2004 Venox and bring it back to Alabama for its "makeover". The project was named "OBnoXious" and I sent weekly email updates with photos of the progress. He planned to unveil it during the OuterBanks Bike Week in April 2007. We did just that. During the Harley Davidson sponsored show we rolled out his custom Venox. It was done as a tribute to his father, a WWII Marine B-27 pilot. The bike was hardtailed, satin green and black, blacked out wheels, ammo cans for hardcases, etc. George loved it. He plastered pictures of that bike everywhere. He told me that one of his proudest moments was when he was asked to lead the Memorial Day parade for the local military base. He sent me copies of the newspaper articles and photos of him leading the parade. The military base even did an article on his bike and his father for their newsletter and presented George with an award for his commitment to the military (even tho he did not serve).
Sadly, in late 2010, George seemed to drop off the planet. No one could locate him or make contact with him. One of his long-time friends, Doug (aka "Pops") told me that George had been quietly battling cancer and passed away in early 2011. This information was confirmed by the Social Security Death Index and Ancestry.com.
George, aka "OBXbiker", we at ACD salute you for your passion and dedication to our passions. Life as we know it would not be the same without you. And on a personal note, I will always have our friendship in a special place in my heart. Good bye, my friend.
To those that have talked with Mike you know that what I am about to say is the Gods Honest truth.
Mike is and was a straight shooter. Never one to mix words he shot straight from the hip. I found his honesty to be refreshing and at times a bit shocking. I got lots of good tips from Mike over a few years. I had a long running side talk with Mike. I had hoped to meet him in person this summer or next.
To are fallen rider. We will miss you brother! Ride safe to the God that you have chosen. May the rest of your days be filled with good times and good cheer, hot sun, long rides and nearly naked woman to rub your feet and back and bring you a never ending cup of what ever you choose to drink. Ride on brother! Ride on Brother.
To end; I miss Mike already! I miss his humor. I miss the fact he lived a really cool life. I feel his passing is yet another life lost.
MIKE YOU WILL BE MISSED!!!
Ride on brother.
R.I.P. BROTHER
psychedelic
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John Pagnini Sr.
February 14, 1956 - December 13, 2009
Johnny Pag Sr.
Johnny and I spoke early in the JPM history via email. I was later able to meet him at the Indy show in 2007. He was very affable and talked with me at length. Though I did not know him well, I wish I could have. Johnny was, and is, a legend and will be missed.
Donald R. Berkey
February 22, 1949- June 14th, 2009
Who was Don Berkey?
Well, lets get the background out of the way. Don made his first powered bike at the tender age of 14 when he mounted a lawn mower engine to a bicycle and converted it to belt drive. Yeah, that Don. He was a master of home made engineering. Later Don joined the SeaBees, a naval construction battalion, and saw service in Vietnam. After his duty to the Navy, he joined the National Guard Air Cavalry and jumped out of perfectly good airplanes. I can actually imagine him doing that. :) Later, Don became a Corrections Officer with the Pennsylvania State Prison System. Somewhere in all of this, he met and married Linda and they had a son DJ.
So, thats the official Don. But who is the "real" Don? Well, as much as anyone can know a person I'll relate what I know of Don.
Don was a husband, father and best friend to his family. Don stood by Linda's side through the long ordeal of her cancer treatment. Don stood by his son whose premature birth caused childhood illnesses.
In this dangerous world, Don was the kind of peron who would stop and help a stranded motorist whether they be on a motorcycle or in a car.
Don was the kind of man that would take a newbie rider under his wing and teach her the ropes of riding Pennsylvania's blind hills.
Don loved animals. I remember reading how he would feed the deer at the edge of the prison grounds apples that he had saved for them.
Don was gruff, yet had the heart of a poet. Many here have read a few of his essays, but he wrote so many, and so much, more.
Don was a patriot. A staunch conservative, he believed in America and the intent of our founding fathers.
A native of Fredericksburg, VA, Bryan was born March 21, 1969, to James Dennis and Connie Harshbarger Hagan. Bryan was a man who loved adrenaline and even achieved a land speed record for his custom built Harley. He was a master bike builder and owned his own company Iron Thunder Cycles in Raleigh. He was into skydiving, playing drums and bass, 80's music, and loved spending time in the mountains with his friends and family. He loved the military and all his 82nd Airborne brothers. More than anything else he loved his family. His world revolved around his wife Stacy and his daughter Jaclyn. His love and affection for the two most important women in his life was always second to none, and he loved nothing more that to see them smile.
Bryan is survived by his wife, Stacy Deman Hagan; daughter, Jaclyn Hagan; parents, Dennis and Connie Hagan; sister, Tammy Tilghman; brother, Jacob Hagan; and a host of friends that will surely never forget him.
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