Our Movieman is gone.........July 28 was indeed a very sad day for all of us.

I was blessed to meet David in person, and graced to be in his presence less than one month ago. He was so encouraging to me in my racing career, and in our Thunder Valley Racing team's development of the Factory Five Racing Coupe in our pursuit of the endurance racing championship.

In day to day terms, I knew very little about David. Our homes were on opposite sides of the country: His in New Hampshire, and mine in Southern California. I worked in the field of education, and he in the oh-so-technical computer world. We met through the forums and our common love of the Coupes. To say David was a computer genius would be a severe understatement. The most powerful and technologically advanced silicon-based companies in the world relied on David to test their products, and to not only critique them, but his suggested improvements were readily adopted.

David had another interest though, and that was in the legendary Daytona Coupes. He was in the early stages of planning his Coupe build when we connected through the forums, and like David Hodgkins, I met David while on my trip to the Factory Five Open House last month. David and I initially connected through the Factory Five Forum some five years ago, and then on Facebook within the last couple of years. We connected about the same time my husband Andy was diagnosed with cancer, and David's many words of encouragement in our medical battle, as well as his endless cheerleading for our race team as we persevered through those very difficult times, truly touched my heart and meant the world to me at the time (and still does). We sadly lost our Andy to brain cancer, and in the weeks and months that followed, David would "check in" on me from time to time, with private messages on the forum or more recently through Facebook messaging.

His kindness and uncanny ability to somehow just "know" the right time to reach out was simply phenomenal. Here was a person I had never met, reaching out to me in a way that transcended the thousands of miles that separated us. He was one of the most perceptive people I've ever known. In the fall of last year, when we all learned that David was facing serious health issues, I was completely heart broken. Along with his many friends, we all closely followed his diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis for the future. We were all pulling for him, but as he told me himself, his cancer was discovered in an advanced stage, and there was little to be done.

David messaged me in February of this year, telling me he would very much enjoy our having the chance to visit in person if I ever found myself in the Boston/Southern New Hampshire area. I knew his cancer was progressing quickly, and I could not have been more honored to make that trip, nor more grateful to have had the opportunity to meet David, and come to know/understand his being. In the big scheme of life, we were kindred spirits. He was passionate about life, and spoke truthfully, and without quarter, when it came to things of great import to him. I learned much from him about myself, which I will carry forward in my life with a renewed appreciation of friendship, family, and the true gifts that a simple life bestows upon us each and every day. He was a truly special person, and when I left his home, a piece of my heart stayed there with him, and I will forever carry a piece of his heart with me. May God bless you David Hunt. You made a difference during your time here on this earth, and the world is indeed a lesser place without you in it. Rest in Peace my friend. Karen