1962 Jaguar XKE

[ea56]

I used to have a subscription to Hemmings Classic Cars and I receive daily emails from them for their auctions of classic cars.

In the link below is a listing from Hemmings Motor News for a car identical to the car that my father was driving when he lost his life in 1962. It was one of the very first ‘62 XKE’s to arrive at British Motors of San Francisco in early ‘62. It was white and my Dad wanted a Red one so he had it painted Red before it even left the dealership.

He was involved in a terrible accident on June 30, 1962 in Applegate, Calif. on HWY 50 on his way back home from Lake Tahoe on business. The impact of the crash ripped the seatbelt from the floorboards and he was ejected thru the convertible top and half of his cranium came off. He died in the ambulance on the way to the nearest hospital in Auburn, Calif. My childhood was forever changed that day and was never the same again.

Eddie

https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1962-jaguar-e-type-750804?utm_medium=email&utm_source=auctions_newsletter&uemlid=c6b029491e3115e89aa7f03da71d30b2792d894c843f6ea29d19890344ce42c1

 

[petek]

What a horrible thing to have happened. I can't imagine how awful it wasfor you and your family.

 

[ea56]

Thanks Pete! It truly was horrific, but we survived it and in some ways I believe it made me a stronger person. This June 30th it will be 62 years since that terrible day and to this day whenever a loved one leaves in a car I wish them a safe trip and pray that they will return safe and sound. You just never know how much your life can change in a split second.

Never miss an opportunity to tell your loved ones that you love them, it may be the last time you’ll ever get to say those words to them.

Eddie

 

[frigidaireguy]

I can only imagine how devastating this must have been for you at such a young age. I lost my Mother to a heart attack when I was 23 and yes I'll agree you do come out being a stronger person as a result of such tragedy. I also agree that you should never let the opportunity to tell someone that you love and care for them as you never know when it will be the last time you get to tell them.

Bob

 

[stan]

Omg !

Eddie
I’m so sorry.
I love old cars..but after reading your post, I couldn't bring myself to open the link and even see the car.
Heartbreaking!

Stan

 

[pulltostart]

Eddie,

I agree with Stan, I can't muster the curiosity/courage to open the link.  I'm very sorry that you carry this memory around after all these years, that's some heavy baggage.  Also, that's a terrible event for an 11-year-old to experience.  But I understand how connected that you are to both.

 

lawrence

 

[ea56]

Lawrence and Stan,
Thanks for your kind words. Opening the link only will show an actual ‘62 XKE that looks the same as the one my father lost his life in, it’s not the actual photo of the car after the accident. I happened to run across this Hemmings listing by accident and it brought back all of these memories so I thought I’d share the photo here.

I’ve seen the CHP photos of the actual accident and the car is barely distinguishable as an XKE. My Mom only received $95.00 salvage and that car cost over $6000.00, so you can imagine how bad the accident was.

There was a lawsuit against my fathers estate that wasn’t settled until the summer of ‘64 and even though my father had the highest auto insurance coverage available in ‘62 $100,00/$300,00 PL&PD the suit eventually settled over that amount with an award that took an additional $75,000 from my Dad’s Life insurance.

I’m sorry to have bummed anyone out. It was an experience that forever changed my family, but it’s over. My only message is that nothing is forever and in the blink of an eye your life can be changed forever.

If any of you like vintage cars I’d encourage you to take a look at this listing. It’s a beautiful car even if it invokes bad memories for me.

Eddie

 

[foraloysius]

Thank you Eddie for sharing the car and your story about what roll it played in your life. Glad it’s over for you. I hope it brings some good memories of your father back too.

 

[ea56]

Louis,
Thanks and yes, this photo has brought back some good memories too. Everything happens in our lives for a reason, whether we understand it at the time or not. All of our lives are a composite of both good and bad, which hopefully in the end balances out for the good.

Eddie

 

[qsd-dan]

Not into sports cars, driving fast/corning hard after I was 19. From age 19 on, I just wanted to get from point A to point B with as little drama as possible. Too many crazies on the road now...usually in sports cars driving fast and risky, lol.

However, my sincere condolences to your father. It's incredibly tough growing up without a parent, I had several friends that grew up without a father or mother. They truly missed out in a way but I did see them become stronger/more mature in certain areas of life before their time as a youngster. It also helped them excel in parts of life where us "normies" struggled a bit, usually in the reliance department.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I, too, have known a lot of single-parent famles and where the children, child or a child of was at such a young age so Eddie, I sympathize completely...

The Jaguar XKE was referenced in a Hoyt Aston song Better Loving Man, sometimes sung as Better Lovng Woman depending on gender of the singer and I have some Pat Boone '45' of a cartoon mouse driving one, too--in a world mostly-dominated by American cars...

Of which some guest character on the Beverly Hillbillies even drove one cruising by during a Flatt-Scruggs narrative in song references that character, as a "typical city dude" playing someone there outworldly wooing maybe Ellie May perhaps...

Ellie May even had a jaguar as a pet of which another guest character in another episode of course mistook it for the sports car...

That aside, I'm more of a muscle car type of persons, having only owned a Dodge Omni-based Charger as anything classified as a Sporty Car, and somehow failed to get even a lease on my Dream Dodge Challenger when it first got revived in 2010 and I wanted one...

That leaves what I believe these guys are pushing on the cover of this album, of which red, green, orange, black, yellow and blue I would figure must be common colors, but I'm sure your dad's white one must have been as spectacular...

All that aside, Eddie, I'm sorry to have now read what happened to your father and his great latest car that so many years ago... Growing up I know was hard so G-dspeed that you hopefully and willingly have adjusted....

-- Dave

 

[ea56]

Thank You!

I want to thank each of the members that replied to this thread for their kind words. And to say that when I originally posted this thread it wasn’t meant to be a poor me statement. I’d just so happened to run across the photo of a Jaguar that is identical to my Dads’s ‘62 and thought I’d share the story.

Here is a photo of my Dad that was taken approx 6 months before he died. The photo was taken in his law office and was used at the time for newspaper stories regarding his legal practice. He was only 36 when the photo was taken and 37 at the time of his untimely death. I remember at the time I thought he looked so old, but then I was only 11 years old and all adults looked old to me then. Looking at this photo now he looks way too young to have died. Such is fate.

Eddie[this post was last edited: 4/20/2024-21:11]

 

[circlew]

Eddie, your father was a very attractive man. It's terrible that you and your family had to lose him so early.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I agree, Eddie... If your dad were older than he was in that photo, he would still be too young to go...

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[dermacie]

I also lost my father at a young age 12 years old and my life was changed and childhood needed that day.  I totally know how it is.  

 

[ea56]

Derek,
I’m sorry that you lost your father when you were 12 years old. It’s an experience that you never forget and it does end your childhood in many ways like you said. I hope that as time has passed and you’ve grown older that the pain has diminished like it has for me. But those memories never completely go away. Please accept my sympathy for your loss.

Eddie

 

[dermacie]

Thank you, and even with tremendous loss, lots of good has come in my life as I am sure with yours.