BikeTexas Memorial Funds

If you wish to make a donation in memory of one of the individuals below, please click here.

David Boyd
Wednesday, 17 September 2008

David Boyd, native Houstonian and avid mountain bike racer, died on September 3, 2008 in a climbing accident in Colorado. He was 47 years old. Dave was a radiologist, practicing in northwest Houston, and a dedicated outdoorsman. He founded and was captain of the M.O.A.T adventure racing team and competed in mountain bike races all over Texas and the nation. Known and respected by other racers for his athleticism, humility, generosity and good sportsmanship, his untimely death has inspired an outpouring of grief and remembrance from the mountain bike and climbing communities.

You can read remembrances of Dave from fellow climbers and cyclists here. Though shocked and saddened by the news, many take comfort in the fact that he died while doing something he loved.

Dave became a lifetime member of BikeTexas / Texas Bicycle Coalition in 2001. It was important to Dave to encourage young mountain bikers in the sport – for this reason, his family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the David Boyd Memorial Fund for the BikeTexas Kids Kup. The Kids Kup is a mountain bike race for children that precedes every TMBRA Point Series race.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to Dave’s friends and family. You can read his obituary in the Houston Chronicle here. 

Bahram Daneshvar
Thursday, 16 June 2005

On February 3rd, 2005, Bahram Daneshvar and Charles Thiele, both visiting Fredericksburg from Minnesota, set out on their bicycles to experience the fabled Texas Hill Country. The two cyclists were touring with a group of about 50 cyclists from Minnesota that had traveled to Fredericksburg specifically to ride the roads which have made the Hill Country a national destination for bicyclists.

Bahram was struck and killed by a light pickup truck traveling along Highway 16.

Members of Fredericksburg’s cycling community have responded to this tragedy by creating a memorial fund for Bahram Daneshvar to be administered by BikeTexas / Texas Bicycle Coalition. Their gifts will advance the Share the Road campaign, an ongoing program to make roadways safer for cyclists.

This preventable death of a visiting cyclist will not be forgotten, and will alert our legislators of the need to establish Safe Passing legislation for bicycle traffic. Donate now to the Bahram Deneshvar Memorial Fund.

 

Phyllis Hassan
Originally published: BikeTexas Today August - October 2004

On May 8, long time Dallas-Fort Worth area bicyclist Phyllis Hassan was killed while riding her bicycle on Highway 51, just outside Granbury, TX. An Arlington resident, Hassan, 73, suffered head injuries after being struck by the side-view mirror of a passing SUV, and was Care-Flighted to Harris Methodist in Ft. Worth, where she died.

At the request of Phyllis' family, the BikeTexas / Texas Bicycle Coalition established a Memorial Fund in the days immediately following her death, with proceeds benefiting bicycle safety education in Texas. A member of the Lone Star Cyclists, former member and past president of the Greater Dallas Bicyclists and BikeTexas member, Phyllis was loved and admired by all who knew her. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, she had ridden bicycles for 25 years, putting in 6,000 miles in 2003.

"Since she retired, she was probably riding as much as she ever had," Lone Star Cyclists member Eddie Stinson told the daily. "She really enjoyed it." Originally from Britain, she had worked as an urban planner. She is survived by two sons, Andrew and David Hassan, and brother Richard Brazier.

 

Larry Schwartz
Originally published: BikeTexas Today February - March 2003

Lawrence "Larry" Schwartz was born January 5, 1961, in Washington, D.C. and passed away May 4, 2003, in Dallas. Larry was featured in our March-April issue of BikeTexas Today and recognized in the Dallas Morning News for his prolific cycling. In 2002 Larry cycled approximately 25,000 miles and in 2003 he had already cycled 7,612. Larry was fatally hit when the mirror of a passing school bus struck him from behind north of McKinney on FM 1461 around 8 a.m. on May 1. Larry was wearing a helmet.

Larry's love of cycling and his involvement in the cycling community cannot be overemphasized. As evident when viewing the Dallas Morning News "Larry Schwartz guestbook" Larry's life and sudden passing have touched cyclists across the continent. A common theme in 21 pages of guestbook entries is Larry's humble nature despite his amazing achievements.

You can view Larry's guestbook by clicking on the guestbook link at www.biketexas.org. Larry became a BikeTexas member in 1991 and made a generous donation to the Education Fund last Fall. In lieu of gifts and flowers, BikeTexas / Texas Bicycle Coalition and The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America were designated as recipients for memorial contributions.

Bus Driver Pleads Guilty in Schwartz Death
Originally published: BikeTexas Today April - May 2004

The last issue of BikeTexas Today featured on its cover a photograph of nationally known marathon cyclist Larry Schwartz, who was killed May 1, 2003 in a collision involving bus driver Robert Arvard Haynes. On Feb. 10, as jury selection was about to begin in Haynes' trial, the prosecution and defense agreed to a plea bargain requiring Haynes to serve 180 days in county jail, perform 300 hours of community service (with an emphasis on cycling-related education), relinquish his commercial license for five years, and pay a $500 fine. If Haynes violates his parole, he will have to spend five years in prison.

According to official reports, Haynes' rear-view mirror hit Schwartz as the cycling dynamo was pedaling east on FM 1461 in Collin County. Schwartz died three days later at Dallas' Baylor University Medical Center.A grand jury indicted Haynes on a charge of "Failure to Stop and Render Aid," a felony punishable by a one-dollar fine to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The decision to accept the plea was tough, says Judith Jolly, Schwartz's widow, "but at least we knew that the defendant would spend six months in jail, and then for the next five years be closely monitored by the state." If Haynes misses his hours of community service, fails a drug test, or incurs any other violation against him, he will automatically go to the state penitentiary.

"The world lost a truly amazing person on May 1," Jolly says. "All of us knew Larry, or of Larry, for his incredible cycling accomplishments. And so many of us knew him as a caring person, a good friend, with an easy-going nature … so modest, yet so accomplished. He was and will always be a legend."

On May 19, 2004, Rides of Silence will take place across the continent; the Dallas/Fort Worth ride will begin at White Rock Lake at 7pm. The Metroplex ride will surely bring out many riders eager to commemorate Schwartz -- but as Jolly says, "it is not only for us to remember Larry, but all friends and loved ones who died while cycling at the hands of a motorist."

 

James Kerr
Originally published: BikeTexas Today July - August 2002

Longtime BikeTexas member Jim Kerr spent a lot of time on a bicycle. His death while riding his bike in November 2001 was a blow to us all in Texas, and especially to his friends, those who regularly rode with him, and to his fellow members of the Plano Bicycle Association. His co-workers at Hewlett Packard in Richardson, some of whom were cycling buddies, decided to recognize their friend with a memorial. Together they collected money for a plaque to place in front of a tree at their workplace. The creating and placing of the plaque in front of a tree is an early tradition that began when the company was Convex Computer Co., a company Jim helped to create.

The plaque in memory of Jim includes his name, the date he began work at Convex (now Hewlett Packard) and the date of his untimely death. Jim's co-workers were so generous that they collected far more money than needed to purchase the plaque and with the remainder of the collection they donated $586.10 to the BikeTexas / Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund in Jim's name.

One of his colleagues explained the uneven amount by saying that he had gone through Jim's desk to collect his personal items and found some loose change, which he added to the collection. We would much rather have Jim riding alongside us but since that isn't possible, BikeTexas will use this gift given in his memory to train the next generation of vehicle operators. Every dollar BikeTexas receives as a donation to the Education Fund allows us to bring training to one more elementary school child through our Texas SuperCyclist Project. This training will not only make them safer bicycle operators it will hopefully make them safer and more aware motor vehicle operators too.

In addition to the generous donation to the BikeTexas / Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund from Jim's colleagues, the Plano Bicycle Association of which he was an active member, sent a donation of $250 to BikeTexas in Jim's name. We also want to express our thanks to the Association's members for supporting BikeTexas on Jim's behalf.

Plano BikeTexas Member’s Death Not Due to Collision With Motor Vehicle
Originally published: BikeTexas Today - February - March 2003

FRISCO - Police in the north Texas town of Frisco are saying they still aren't sure of the circumstances that led to the Nov. 8 death of Plano cyclist and BikeTexas member James Kerr. Officer Chris Hollahan of the Frisco Police Department said that an intensive investigation shows that Kerr, 42, was probably not the victim of a vehicle-bicycle collision. "There was no physical evidence that backs up the idea that he was hit while he was riding his bicycle," Hollahan said. "There was no physical evidence that the bicycle was struck by a vehicle, and there was no impact damage to the truck.

The truck Hollahan referred to is the vehicle that apparently ran over the cyclist in the dark early-evening hours of Nov. 8 as he lay on Highway 289 a short distance north of Frisco near a small bridge. The driver of the truck never saw Kerr, Hollahan said. The truck driver and other motorists, however, did say they noticed the flashing light that had been attached to the rear of Kerr's downed bicycle. Hollahan added that Kerr's injuries were not consistent with those of a person struck by a vehicle while cycling. Preliminary reports from a medical examiner's autopsy indicated only that Kerr had died as "the result of an accident", Hollahan said.

"In other words," Hollahan commented, "we only know that he was on the ground before he was run over. We don't know why he was on the ground." Hollahan added the Frisco PD investigation had exonerated the driver of the truck. BikeTexas scrutiny of newspapers revealed that six other bicyclists were killed in crashes around the state between October and December.