In the end, all we have left of others are the memories they leave behind.
They are the one thing that can help guide us through the grief we all experience in life.
When a California husband and father knew he was dying of cancer, he decided he’d spend his last moments making memories with his family.
So in 2016, Shane Porter brought home a beat-up, rusted 1969 Jeepster Commando. It was missing seats, and had an engine that didn’t work, but he was determined to make it run again with his family’s help..
“He knew he wasn’t going to be around much longer,” said Tigger Porter, who met her husband when she was 14 and he was 15.
He thought, ‘you know what, I want good memories. I want to do this.’”
What began was a family project for his wife, and their two sons, Michael and Tim, at the time ages 17 and 15.
Tim Porter smiles while helping his dad work on the family jeep. Photo courtesy of the Porter family
For more than six years, the family worked together on the jeep, while Shane battled bladder cancer and lymphoma. Sadly, the loving father, who worked for more than 30 years as a fire captain, died in January 2022 at age 57.
“Up until a month before he passed away, he was in the garage working on the Jeep,” Tigger Porter said.
The family said that following his death, they couldn’t bring themselves to go back to working on the jeep, and couldn’t bear parting with it, either.
Students work on Shane Porter’s jeep. Photo by Corona-Norco Unified School District
“It has sentimental value,” Tigger said. “I get teary-eyed every time I go around it.”
Then, in May, a family friend who was visiting saw the jeep. Bob Mauger said that he knew he could get it finished for the family. Bob is an automotive technology teacher at Corona High School and he thought immediately of his students.
“This would be a good project for my students to complete,” he said he thought to himself.
So Bob introduced the idea to his advanced class of junior and senior students.
“They were like, ‘we have to do this for the family,’” he said.
Tigger said she couldn’t be happier with the plan.
“It was going to help the kids learn, which is what my husband was all about,” she said.
The class teaches students basic vehicle maintenance and small repairs.
The class, Bob said, is also helping make sure “the kids are learning how to give back.”
They’re not just learning how to fix their own car, but they’re learning how to be a good human,” he said. “That’s what the world needs.”
The kids knew that while it would be a big repair job, it was more than just that.
“It was a project that I knew was going to be a lot of work, but it’s not just a car,” said 17-year-old Judah Castillo. “It was very meaningful.”
“It wasn’t running, engine parts were missing, the cooling system wasn’t functioning,” Bob said. “We noticed there were some structural issues.”
All told, it took 15 months for the Jeep to be finished. Bob said the students spent most of their free time after school and over summer break working on the repairs. There were some students who graduated, and still kept coming back to help finish the project.
The completed Jeep. Photo by Corona-Norco Unified School District
“They were so dedicated,” Bob said. “I’m super proud of my students.”
After the car was fixed, the students painted it.
“The main goal was to make it drivable and safe,” Bob said. The repairs cost nearly $600, which the teacher covered out of his own pocket.
“Shane was with us the whole time,” he said. “I think he would be thankful that we were able to give this gift to his boys and his wife.”
In a presentation to the family on July 27, the jeep was revealed. One son, Tim, was at boot camp in Nebraska, and watched on FaceTime, while his mom and brother, Michael, were at the unveiling.
Tigger said the students would never know how much they did for her family.
“They had no idea who we were, but they did it,” she said. “This was truly a work of love.”
Watch below for a look at the students and their wonderful gift to the Porter family.
Source: Washington Post
