Bill Emerson's (BillE) Shop

[Lynn Larsen]

Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

During what turned out to be anything but a vacation -- my mother passed away on June, 9 -- I did have a chance to stop by Bill Emerson's shop on the south side of Redding California. While I didn't get to see the body buck as it is being completed at another location, I can tell you that the chassis Bill is building are pretty awesome looking. If you are or you know a big guy who would like a super performance car that you can feel comfortable in, these sure look like the answer for you. The big Ford modular motors mated to the RBT transaxles sure look the part also! If the the one complete Cobra and the other Cobra chassis I saw are any indication, Bill builds some butt kicking stuff.

Don't let Bill's writing style fool you, this guy knows how to build a car. Maybe someday he'll share with us here some of the records and accolades his Cobras have garnered. He also has some well known name contributing to and participating to his efforts like Lloyd Butfoy and Sean Hyland.

If you are ever traveling north on I-5 from Sacramento, I would highly recommend stopping in to see Bill. While my time was limited by my need to pick up my two sons in Sacramento and getting them up to see their grandmother who was failing fast at the time, Bill was a very gracious host and just a heck of nice guy. Thank you, Bill!

Regards,
Lynn

 

[Andy Besic]

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

Lynn,

My condolences to you and your family.

Andy

 

[mike_starling]

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

Lynn,

Very sorry to hear of the sadness in the family. No one is more special than one's Mom. Our most sincere condolensces.

 

[Fernando Gonzalez-Bunster]

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

My deepest condolonces for your loss and thank for the info.

 

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

Lynn,

My sincere condolences to you and your family. I hope your family has many generations in it to remember your mother. This will keep her with us for all that time.

Joseph

 

[Lynn Larsen]

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

Thanks to everyone for kind words: I appreciate them very much. While we will miss "Grannie Fannie" (her full maiden name was Fannie Christine Farrell), she lived a very full life that went well beyond what most women in her era experienced. Her life ranged from living The Grapes of Wrath story, to first woman in the Florida Nurseryman's Association, to being the sole owner/operator of an RV park on the Klamath River, where she also had a gold mining claim, in her 60's and 70's. She survived plowing her Eddie Bauer Explorer into the side of semi hauling hay which left her without her beloved 4x4. She was a crack shot with her .308 rifle and I was lucky enough to get her custom made fly rod. The Women's Marine Corps did provide a flag and a brass plaque although she was honorably discharged after a year and a half of service because she lied about her age in 1941 when she joined at age 16. While all of this may make Mom sound like a bit of a tomboy, she was a very attractive woman and we found a collection of tasteful "modeling" photos she had made while in her early 20's in the San Francisco bay area. Being from Oklahoma, it is not surprising that she had Native American blood and this gave her an exotic, almost oriental, look in these photos.

In short, my mother was a unique flower in God's garden. She had lived a full life, had a strong faith and was fully accepting of her condition and was at peace with the inevitable. She went very quickly which was a blessing in that she didn't experience any of the horrors that the hospice materials had warned us could happen with her particular kind of cancer.

Thanks and regards,
Lynn

 

[Paul W]

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

Sincerest condolences Lynn, sounds like she had a pretty good innings.

 

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

Lynn thanks for the kind words. Sounds like Mom had a great run.

 

[Lynn Larsen]

Re: Bill Emerson\'s (BillE) Shop

Bill, you are quite welcome for the mention here. And thanks to everyone for the condolences!

Not to be a downer, but you guys won't believe this. We had been home from California barely more than a week when we got news from Florida that my wife's mother was quite ill. On the 15th of this month, she too passed away. This has been quite a summer! They say these things happen in threes, so we have had our three: my stepson (wife's son by previous marriage) lost his fraternal grandfather about a month before my mother passed and then my wife's mother passing 5 weeks afterwards.

Hopefully we'll be home for a while now and I'll be able to contribute a few more posts.

Regards,
Lynn