FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail from Heather Cassell:

Live your Dreams

I would like to start by thanking everyone for the enormous amount of support we have received. It is very comforting to read all of your e-mails. I must say that these past few days have been the hardest of my life. I wake up every morning in tears. The days all seem to be a blur. And the nights are just plain scary. I am left with wonderful memories of a man that had so much drive and passion for the things in his life. He touched the lives of more people in just 28 years than most people do in a lifetime.

Bryan was amazing! He knew everyone! What can I say, the man talked 24/7. It used to drive me crazy! We used to joke and say that if Bryan ever had to be quiet for more than a few minutes, he would explode. He had the gift of gab. He was a wonderful salesman. I often times had to tell him to stop trying to sell me his ideas. He was a “networker.” It was funny that no matter where we went, we always bumped into someone he knew. We could be right down the street from our house or hours away from home. That was just Bryan. He wanted to know everyone!

I first met Bryan when we were in high school, about 11 years ago. I instantly knew that he was a great person. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I met up with him again. We began dating the next day. He was 19 and I was 18. Six months later we were engaged. We had a very long engagement but we were considered already married. We finally got married a couple of years ago. We were together for over nine years. He was my world. We did everything together. It was funny how we were complete opposites. You could not of had two other people be as different as we were and have as great of a relationship and share as much love as we did for each other.

He taught me many things in life. I was blown away with his ability to learn new things in a matter of seconds. He always found a place for himself. He has certainly taught me about passion. Since he started racing this year, I became more and more amazed with him. I used to joke with him about how excited and passionate I thought he was (especially about racing). I told him that some day I would also find a passion like he had, and that I would also learn to take more risks. I have been learning how to paint and I enjoy art. He asked me about that being my passion. I laughed and said that comparing art to road racing seemed a bit funny. I told him that road racing was full of risks. Painting was not quite comparable. The only risk was maybe poking myself with a paint brush. I am sure that one day I will find my passion. I have had the best role model!

I love that he was able to bring meaning and enuthsiasm to the sport of road racing. I have had huge amounts of support from everyone, many of whom I have never met. I have always known that Bryan was special, but I never realized that he had touched so many lives. He was an inspiration to us all.

I will continue to maintain his website www.mightyducracing.com and I will keep his screen name. Please feel free to contact me if you need someone to talk to, or if you just want to share something about Bryan. I would love it if you introduced yourselves! I have enjoyed reading all of your posts. Thank You for taking the time to post your thoughts. They have been more helpful than you will ever know.

A public viewing will be held Thursday, October 23rd, from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. There will be a Celebration of Life ceremony on Friday, October 24th, at 2:00 pm. Both will take place at:

Harvey-Engelhardt Metz Funeral Home
1600 Colonial Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33907
(239)936-2177

In lieu of flowers, a fund has been set up under Bryan’s name at any SunTrust Bank.

I have so much more to say about Bryan. But mostly I will miss him! I am very happy that he got to live his lifelong dream of racing at Daytona. There are not a lot of people that can say they have lived their dream! He was a happy man. This is what he wanted to do. Remember to live your dreams!

I LOVE YOU BRYAN!

Forever your wife,

Heather



More, from a reader:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

This is Bryan’s personal website that he kept a history of his racing.

http://www.mightyducracing.com/home.html

If you run a follow-up to the announcement of his passing, I thought you may want to include it so others can see what kind of person he was and how he loved road racing.

Bryan was also a big contributor to the CCS board, www.racemotorcycles.com.

His input and passion for the sport will be truly missed. I was at the track when this tragic accident claimed his life. My prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Heather, his family, friends and all those who new him. May he rest in peace as he was passed doing something he truly loved.

Steve Sidman
CCS Expert #75
Lake Mary, Florida