Tom Willumsen of Winston shakes hands with Dennis Miller of Roseburg after the two men went on a short ride around Winston in Miller’s 1932 Ford roadster on Wednesday.
CHI Mercy Health Chaplain Sabin Gautreau closes the door on Dennis Miller’s 1932 Ford roadster as Miller and Tom Willumsen of Winston prepare to take a ride on Wednesday in Winston.
Dennis Miller, of Roseburg, left, opens the door on his 1932 Ford Highboy roadster as Russ Grout, right, helps his friend Tom Willumsen into the car to take a short ride Wednesday in Winston.
Tom Willumsen, of Winston, shakes hands with Dennis Miller, of Roseburg, Wednesday before the two men set out on a short ride around Winston in Miller’s 1932 Ford Highboy roadster.
Tom Willumsen of Winston shakes hands with Dennis Miller of Roseburg after the two men went on a short ride around Winston in Miller’s 1932 Ford roadster on Wednesday.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review
Tom Willumsen, of Winston, waves as he leaves on a ride with Dennis Miller of Roseburg in Miller’s 1932 Ford Highboy roadster on Wednesday in Winston.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review
Tom Willumsen, of Winston, takes a ride in Dennis Miller’s 1932 Ford Highboy roadster on Wednesday in Winston.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review
Tom Willumsen, of Winston, prepares to take a ride in Dennis Miller’s 1932 Ford Highboy roadster on Wednesday in Winston.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN/News-Review photos
CHI Mercy Health Chaplain Sabin Gautreau closes the door on Dennis Miller’s 1932 Ford roadster as Miller and Tom Willumsen of Winston prepare to take a ride on Wednesday in Winston.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN/The News-Review
Dennis Miller, of Roseburg, left, opens the door on his 1932 Ford Highboy roadster as Russ Grout, right, helps his friend Tom Willumsen into the car to take a short ride Wednesday in Winston.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN/News-Review photos
Tom Willumsen, of Winston, shakes hands with Dennis Miller, of Roseburg, Wednesday before the two men set out on a short ride around Winston in Miller’s 1932 Ford Highboy roadster.
Tom Willumsen got in the passenger seat of Dennis Miller’s 1932 exposed engine Ford Highboy roadster, adorned with flames on the sides, with a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye Wednesday morning.
“I was telling my friend about the ’32 Ford I had when I was a kid, and one thing led to another,” Willumsen said.
Miller took Willumsen, 82, on a 10-minute cruise through Winston, about the length Willumsen could manage with his portable oxygen tank. Willumsen has only one lung and needs help to breath.
Willumsen has been on hospice care for a few months and his chaplain, Sabin Gautreau, knew he wanted to do something to help honor Willumsen in the time he has left.
As a young man, Willumsen served in the 143rd airborne division during the Vietnam War, according to his friend Russ Grout.
Working as a chaplain at Mercy Hospice, Gautreau said he tries to honor the veterans they serve. He asked Willumsen if he wanted to participate in a pinning ceremony, but Willumsen declined.
“I think that says something about him, just maybe the humility and the fact that, ‘Hey, I just did what I was supposed to do,’” Gautreau said. “That’s a characteristic to me that really sticks out with him.”
Willumsen told Gautreu about his childhood car, and he knew it was a wish he could help make come true — a final ride in a rat rod, similar to the one he owned.
“And that was one of his last wishes, apparently,” Miller said. “I’m just an old car buff, and I’m sure he was at one time and that’s his wish, so I’d sure be happy to oblige him.”
In 1959, Willumsen got his first car, a 1932 Ford 5-window coupe. It was considered a rat rod even then.
“That’s when things were really getting going in Southern California,” Willumsen said. “The only place I could get parts were the junkyard and a place called Obsolete Ford.”
Willumsen is originally from California and has been living with his friends Russ Grout and Grout’s wife in Douglas County since 2007.
Willumsen and Grout have been friends for the past 30 or so years, and share a closeness because they are both Vietnam veterans.
“I love him like a brother. He’s a good man. One of the best men I know,” Grout said. “He’s one that I think deserves to be in heaven, if there ever was one.”
Nika Bartoo-Smith is a Snowden Intern for The News-Review. She can be reached at nsmith@nrtoday.com.
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Now there's a pretty special gift. One can tell by the smile on Mr. Willumsen's face.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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