Tom Delagrange Obituary?

[RaceFan]

I just heard that Tom Delagrange of Waterloo passed away awhile back,does anyone have a copy of his obituary? I heard it was kinda Hush Hush.
Tom had some old race cars that we'd like to have had at The Northeastern Indiana Racing Museum. Here's one of them that he had in his collection:

William “Al” Hamman - #1887 Berghoff Beer Hisso – 1936

William “Al” Hamman of Ft. Wayne, IN is shown here in the Berghoff Beer Hisso. One of the things that set this car apart was its custom cast iron crank case. Andrew Berning drove this car at least once in 1937 – Tom Delagrange collection

“Most drivers of Hissos were known as ‘Hisso Chauffeurs’ because it took a special talent to drive one. The main reason was you had to keep the r.p.m.s up. Otherwise, it would take two or three laps to get them wound out again!” – Tom Delagrange, owner of the #100 Delagrange Hisso

[james_t]

Here's what ran in the paper:

http://www.fwdailynews1.com/articles...85839251a6.txt

[RaceFan]

Here's what ran in the paper:

http://www.fwdailynews1.com/articles...85839251a6.txt

James,I don't have a subscription to the KPC Paper, so I can't access it.

[mommyof3]

Here you go RaceFan:

WATERLOO — Thomas G. Delagrange, 63, died Monday, Nov. 24, 2008, in Waterloo.

He was born June 21, 1945, in Fort Wayne, to Clarence and Mary (Fine) Delagrange. They preceded him in death.

Surviving are his wife, Sandy (Getty) Delagrange of Waterloo; two sons, Chad Delagrange of Waterloo and Andrew Delagrange of Auburn; one daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Adam Brinkhoff of Bremen; and one grandchild, Gerrit Brinkhoff.

Private family services will be Friday at Feller Funeral Home, 875 S. Wayne St., Waterloo. Burial will be in Waterloo Cemetery.

[RaceFan]

Here you go RaceFan:

WATERLOO — Thomas G. Delagrange, 63, died Monday, Nov. 24, 2008, in Waterloo.

He was born June 21, 1945, in Fort Wayne, to Clarence and Mary (Fine) Delagrange. They preceded him in death.

Surviving are his wife, Sandy (Getty) Delagrange of Waterloo; two sons, Chad Delagrange of Waterloo and Andrew Delagrange of Auburn; one daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Adam Brinkhoff of Bremen; and one grandchild, Gerrit Brinkhoff.

Private family services will be Friday at Feller Funeral Home, 875 S. Wayne St., Waterloo. Burial will be in Waterloo Cemetery.

Thank-You Mommyof3. It's too bad they didn't tell about his history and his race cars. I think when an Obituary is done they should tell something about the history of the person to celebrate their life.

[Graygleam]

Thank-You Mommyof3. It's too bad they didn't tell about his history and his race cars. I think when an Obituary is done they should tell something about the history of the person to celebrate their life.

Perhaps you could tell something about him. I would certainly be interested.

[HoosierHelen]

Thank-You Mommyof3. It's too bad they didn't tell about his history and his race cars. I think when an Obituary is done they should tell something about the history of the person to celebrate their life.

I'm not certain, but my belief has always been that the obituary is written by the surviving family and presented to the local press. While he had made his mark in history with his race car interests, perhaps his family's focus at the time of death was on his other attributes?

That picture you posted was interesting for me to view and I'm not even a race car person. I understand your interest in his contribution to racing in this area. Good luck in your pursuit on this topic!

I sincerely believe the contribution of the Kruse Race Car museum is going to be significant to our community and it's contribution to our local economy and preservation of history here. Your passion and interest shows ...and that is a GOOD thing!

[james_t]

I'm not certain, but my belief has always been that the obituary is written by the surviving family and presented to the local press.

Sort of. The family consults with the funeral home and then the funeral home sends it to us. We don't usually take them directly from the family.

I'm told this is because once there was a woman who got mad at her husband and in order to get at him submitted an obituary for him to the paper, although he was very much alive.

[HoosierHelen]

Sort of. The family consults with the funeral home and then the funeral home sends it to us. We don't usually take them directly from the family.

I'm told this is because once there was a woman who got mad at her husband and in order to get at him submitted an obituary for him to the paper, although he was very much alive.

OOPS!! Our human race is sure a work in progress...

You all in Journalism sure have your work cut out for you. Darned if you do..and darned if you don't... on so many issues you are called on to report.

But..you keep on reporting. Thankfully....

[RaceFan]

Perhaps you could tell something about him. I would certainly be interested.

I don't know alot about Tom only that he had a collection of old race cars that he owned that other people drove. We were trying to get him to loan us at the Northeastern Indiana Racing Museum a couple of those cars. We didn't even know he had passed away until we received a phone call last week. His Son chad raced sprint cars, not sure if he still does or not.

[The Adventurist]

I use to work with Chad. He did race sprint cars for awhile, but if I remember correctly, he was involved in a racing accident that nearly killed him. I think he broke his neck. After that, I am pretty sure he quit racing. It has been 8 to 10 years since all of that and I have ran into him on occasion, so I think he is still in the area. Hell, knowing Chad, he may even be back into racing by now in some capacity. Check your phone books.