William VON QUINTUS

VON QUINTUS, William Arnold (Bill) Bill passed away on August 4, 2018 at age 71 following 11 weeks of hospitalization & rehab stays after a fall in his home on May 20. Bill is now able to move freely with out a crutch, buggy or wheelchair and no longer suffering & pain. Since he came from a family who gathered often for reunions & celebrations, we know this was another great reunion for him. He is busy playing dominoes with his loved ones again. He grew up on the family farm south east of Austin in the home built by his Von Quintus grandparents and attended Maha & Creedmoor Elementary Schools & one year at Del Valle High School. After his father died in November 1963 he obtained a Hardship Driver's License to drive his mother to her work and transferred to Travis High School. Here he met some great friends who enjoyed cars and going out to the races at Oak Hill & Austin Speed A Rama. Eventually, school took the back burner and he quit school after agreeing to take his GED. He passed but never received the certification since he was told he could go back to school until he was 21. That never happened!! Instead he used his social security benefits to take an accounting course at Dunaway School of Accounting and he used these principles doing his own book keeping until his death. Following this course he went to work and worked steadily his entire life. His first job was at a gas station and then multiple other car related businesses such as an auto supply store, then several speed shops followed. In 1973 he was given the opportunity to become a partner in USA Speed Center in Austin and he remained there until the partnership was dissolved with a non compete clause attached to Bill for several years. At this point in his life he rediscovered manual labor digging lines for Electrical wires working for his electrician friend. He also helped set up an Automotive Parts Center for a friend since that was out of the non compete area. In 1987 Bill opened Austin Performance Specialty on North Lamar which he still owned at the time of his death. He called Austin Performance a true speed shop and was also the proud owner of a Machine Shop on Cameron Road for 11 years. He sold the shop following the death of his long time employee who had managed both the USA Speed and Austin Performance Machine Shops for him. He also owned Oklahoma Performance Specialty for 6 years until the building sold & his manager began to have health issues. Bill was dedicated to his business and often worked 80 hour weeks to get it up and running. In 1996 he and his business were featured in a nationwide automotive publication due to his success and he became known as a pioneer in the speed equipment business. He truly loved the industry and the many friends he made and served thru out the years. Customers always found he tried to keep then supplied with "Jolly Ranchers" and cold soft drinks & water in the fridge. Then at Christmas cookies and chocolate candy awaited them. Many are not racers but love rebuilding & refurbishing older cars as can be seen next door at the Corvette shop and they knew Bill would have the right parts or help find them. He will be remembered by his wide circle of friends and family as a man with a kind, generous heart. He was a no nonsense Man who was truly resourceful and definitely not a slave to fashion. Bill never considered himself disabled even though he had one short leg from childhood. Doctors speculated that it was polio related and he was trying to meet with staff at the Shriner's Hospital to be evaluated. He had received correspondence from a staff member there who was receptive to his input and planning to come visit Bill when he came to visit his son in Austin. In the meantime, it never stopped him from doing his best to help his fellowman; and he had a habit of making sandwiches or goody bags to share with the homeless as he ran errands on early Saturday mornings or for the holidays until his medical condition slowed him down in the last few years. Bill started to close Austin Performance on Saturdays when he reached 50. However much personal business cannot be handled on Saturdays so when one of his employees quit he decided to close on Monday so that both he and his assistant Mike could take care of personal needs and make needed Doctor appointments and give their bodies time to rest. He was a caring person for God's beautiful creation and creatures and believed everything had another use for him or another cause and was our Recycle King! Bill was the only son & youngest after 4 sibling sisters were born to his parents Walter & Ida Wiede Von Quintus. His family attended Salem Lutheran Church within a mile from the former Austin Speed-O-Rama. Bill was baptized as an infant on November 28, 1946 and he confirmed his faith as a teenager on February 26, 1961. Bill wished to donate his organs and be cremated and his ashes will be buried in the Von Quintus Family Plot at Salem Cemetery with his deceased loved ones. The church and cemetery are located on FM 812 & on the way to the Circuits of America Race Track. He is survived by his sisters Helen Von Quintus and Annette Smith of Austin and many other dear family & friends. A Memorial Service & Celebration of Bill's Life will be held at 11am on Saturday, August 25 at Abiding Love Lutheran Church/7210 Brush Country Road. A fellowship luncheon and time to share our precious memories with family & friends will follow. In lieu of flowers, please do as Bill always did and make donations instead to the Abiding Love or Bread for All Food Pantries, Central Texas Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Salvation Army or any other worthy cause which will help bless others just as Bill blessed so many in his life time.