[lnfletcher]

I know this is a little strange, posting an obit, but I thought it was nice and shows that life is short and we have a great chance to enjoy what we have. I didn't know him, but I wish I had met him because he only lived about 15 miles away and was a fellow Cobra enthusiast.

From 6-10 local paper.

LITTLE ROCK — David Gieringer’s boyhood fantasy of cruising in a ’66 Ford Shelby Cobra became a reality in 2009. The ultimate car enthusiast, Gieringer didn’t just buy the car - he built it.

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, he decided it was time to build his dream car and won first place in a car show, said his wife, Cara Beth Gieringer.

David Gieringer died of cancer Monday at Hospice Home Care in Little Rock. He was 57.

David Gieringer was born Aug. 19, 1952, in San Antonio to Wallace and Suzanne Gieringer. His family moved often while his father was in the U.S. Air Force. David Gieringer graduated from St.Joseph High School in Farmington, Mo., and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Arkansas College of Business in 1975.

Being part of a large family of six boys, it was hard for him as a child to stand out. Joining Boy Scouts at age 11 gave him a chance to step out of his brothers’ shadows, his brother Wally Gieringer Jr. said.

David Gieringer earned the rank of Life, which is the second-highest rank in Boy Scouts.

Cara Beth Gieringer, who goes by Beth, said she remembered when her husband was leading a troop on a hiking trip in his 20s and attempting to resolve a conflict between two boys.

“He got their belts and interlooped the belts together and they had to walk together for the hike,” Beth Gieringer said. “They wound up being friends at the end of the hike.”

David and Beth met in Little Rock in 1977 and married on July 14, 1979. They went on to have three children.

In 1985, David Gieringer created Telecom Management in Little Rock and led the telecommunication consulting firm for 25 years. He retired in February. He remained active in business organizations including the Central Arkansas Executives Association and was a founding member of the Arkansas Executives Forum of the University of Arkansas.

He was also a member of Rotary International, served on the Pleasant Valley Country Club board of directors, participated in the FBI Citizen’s Academy and was an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister at Christ the King Parish in Little Rock.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003. Only three months after having surgery, he and his wife traveled to Dublin, Ireland, for a Vermont Biking Tours trip, Beth Gieringer said. The trip, which was for their wedding anniversary, lasted 10 days, covering 30 miles every day.

She said that after a while, the pain from the cancer made it unbearable for him to bike and golf, so David Gieringer decided to fulfill his lifelong dream: Build a replica of a ’66 Ford Shelby Cobra.

He started building the car in 2007 and completed it in 2009. When deciding what license plate to put on the car, his wife suggested “Mistress” because when he wasn’t with her, he was with the car, she said. He chose “66 Shelby” instead.

The replica placed Best Overall in the 1960-69 category in Batesville at the River City Cruisers Car Show in 2009.

Beth Gieringer said that although she joked about the time he spent with his car, his love for her never wavered.

“We were out driving the car on Highway 10 ... and I said, ‘Is this everything you’ve always dreamed of?’ and he said ‘No, you are.’ That was very, very sweet at the time,” Beth Gieringer said.