The passing of a long time TDIclub member, Brian Hague (alphaseinor)

[pkhoury]

I wanted to announce the passing of a longtime TDIclub member, and one of my best friends, Brian Hague, known here as @alphaseinor . Brian passed away in his sleep Tuesday night (which would've been the 5th), in San Antonio, TX. Brian pioneered the mk4 5 speed swap/writeup, was a TDI enthusiast to the end (he had a BRM and a Tesla), owned his own VW/TDI shop for many years in Denton, TX (DigiSport Performance). He taught me the bulk of what I know with TDIs, and we both shared a passion for vintage computers. If it wasn't for Brian, I wouldn't be able to practically do an ALH timing belt in my sleep (they're not that hard, pinky promise). He was also helping me with my Ute, which I don't know what I'll do with now, since that was our project together. Anyways, he will be greatly missed and I just wanted to share this with the TDIclub community.

For those interested, as typed by Brian's sister verbatim:

Just wanted to share the details of Brian's Celebration of Life with you.

Date: April 15, 2023 (Saturday)
Time: 1p - 3p
Place: Dimassis Mediterranean Buffet
12858 W I-10 Frontage Rd
San Antonio, TX 78249

Everyone can eat at the buffet, enjoy hearing stories about Brian, and have the chance to get up and share your own stories.

Brian's sister also asked me to share this link on Gofundme, if y'all don't mind (and obviously no obligation). His surviving wife, Rachel, is autistic, and she neither works nor drives, so the gofundme is primarily for funeral expenses and helping her survive the next few months. Again, no obligation.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/brian-ha...y_link&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined





Photo captions for the curious - Brian and I at a sushi restaurant in Kerrville, TX (probably after he helped me liquidate a computer/electronics business two years ago) and Brian at the last location of DigiSport Performance before closing the business.

 

[oilhammer]

So sorry, thanks for sharing and the kind words.

 

[pkhoury]

So sorry, thanks for sharing and the kind words.

You're welcome, Brian. I learned so much from the other Brian. He's why I have 5 TDIs now (and moved to a solely-diesel fleet), but we also shared our retro comptuer passion, and Brian really was the guy who would take the shirt off his back to help someone else out, and perhaps throw in the socks as well. He will be certainly be missed by many of us.

 

[Lug_Nut]

That's a great loss for all of us.

 

[hskrdu]

Sorry to hear it. Thanks for posting.

 

[csstevej]

Aww man I’m so sorry….it’s because of him I had the nerve to do my swap while it was still being born in the early days.
I’m truly sorry for you on the loss. May he Rest In Peace.

 

[Johhny04]

A loss to the TDI community. May he Rest in Piece.

 

[BleachedBora]

A good friend and a wonderful person. So sorry to hear about this. He will be missed!

 

[ghohouston]

What on earth, that's awful to hear.

 

[turbobrick240]

Very sorry to hear this, Paul. Condolences to Brian's family and friends. You should try to bring that Ute project to completion in his honor.

 

[pkhoury]

Very sorry to hear this, Paul. Condolences to Brian's family and friends. You should try to bring that Ute project to completion in his honor.

Thank you Ben.

My girlfriend was saying the same - that I should figure it out and finish it on my own to honor him. I just know Brian is already proud of the progress I've made since I met him and all the things I've picked up, though he was still second to none on wiring on a VW.

 

[Tdijarhead]

As these diesels age and those of us who enjoy driving them age, I'm afraid that more of us will face the same end. A local fellow perhaps some of you may recall Nord, I believe he passed away several years ago. I never met him and only know he was battling cancer because of a direct message. Most of us our accounts will just go silent so It's nice to have friends that remember. My condolences on the loss of your friend.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Sad to see another of our number gone, my condolences to his family and friends.

I agree with the already-posted thoughts that you should complete the Ute project, Pkhoury - would be something to remember him with.

 

[Nuje]

There are lots of things that you're kinda prepared for as you enter into and then start moving out of middle-age - vision and hearing deteriorate, random aches and pains, slow movement early in the morning lest something spasm and knock you on our ass, etc. - but the one thing not mentioned in the promotional brochures for aging, that continues to sting no matter what, is the passing of friends and acquaintances.

I have so much gratitude and respect for what @alphaseinor brought to the community here. My condolences to those close to him.
Peace and comfort to all.

 

[JDSwan87]

He shall be missed but some of his knowledge will be left here for years to come. He will not be forgotten. Rest in peace.

 

[fatmobile]

RIP in the real world.
He'll live on, here at TDIclub

 

[pkhoury]

As an update, I talked at length to his older sister yesterday, and when they figure out funeral/celebration arrangements, it'll be an open invite. Anyone who's able to come is free to show up. I'll post details as I get them.

 

[pkhoury]

There are lots of things that you're kinda prepared for as you enter into and then start moving out of middle-age - vision and hearing deteriorate, random aches and pains, slow movement early in the morning lest something spasm and knock you on our ass, etc. - but the one thing not mentioned in the promotional brochures for aging, that continues to sting no matter what, is the passing of friends and acquaintances.

I have so much gratitude and respect for what @alphaseinor brought to the community here. My condolences to those close to him.
Peace and comfort to all.

It was still very much a shock to us all. Brian didn't keep it secret that he had crappy health genes; his dad died in October of a stroke, and his older brother had a stroke maybe a year and a half prior. But none of us expected him to leave this Earth at age 44, either. Even though he wasn't as active on TDIclub in recent years, he was still very much into TDIs and always had a love for our high torque diesels, plus the knowledge passed on from "Kill da wabbit." He actually did the wiring for my last swap on DSOL, while I did the physical parts 100% myself (thanks to the knowledge gained from him when we changed the clutch for DSEL). In fact, we had just talked by phone about him helping me to do an LSD on yet another 02J, and I just spoke with him at length on the 31st. My girlfriend is also upset, because we close on our own ranch a week from today, and were eager to share our new property with Brian and his wife, who both adored my goats, cows and sheep. I still keep thinking this is a bad dream and then snapping back almost instantanesouly into reality realizing that he's really not coming back, but not fully able to cope with it yet.

 

[pkhoury]

Sad to see another of our number gone, my condolences to his family and friends.

I agree with the already-posted thoughts that you should complete the Ute project, Pkhoury - would be something to remember him with.

I'm not wild about it, because the instructions are all on youtube videos. I'm very much a visual person, but something like that, a step-by-step pictoral guide would help the most. Brian had a knack for skimming through that stuff and it would just click in his mind. I'm like that with ranch stuff, but not so much with the Ute. After we had built the Ute, he was going to teach me to rebuild the engine (it smokes out the tailpipe, so we were thinking low compression/shot rings). I guess I now need to carry that torch and honor him by learning it myself. Those are the only two things I haven't yet mastered with TDIs - rebuilding an engine from the rods/pistons on up, and rebuilding a manual transmission. But rebuilding the rest of the car? Did it on my three Golfs in my signature in the past two years (all thanks primarily to Brian, along with the wondeful content on this wonderful forum).

 

[pkhoury]

So sorry, thanks for sharing and the kind words.

I actually forgot to include that I don't know how well you and @alphaseinor knew one another, but he always talked so highly of you and your knowledge that you share with us on here, along with your equal zest for diesels.

 

[pkhoury]

For photo captions - first photo was Brian benchflashing an ECU at his shop, second photo is our close knit group within the DFW retro computer club having pizza at a friend's house (Brian in the middle, me in green, host on the far left), and then Brian at his most recent shop on Masch Branch in Denton, before he closed the shop.

 

[AndyBees]

Thanks for sharing ...

 

[csstevej]

Yes thanks for the pictures…..for some reason I thought he was older….closer to my age…I’m 61…....didn’t realize he was 44…

 

[tdidieselbobny]

Damn.... sorry for your loss of a friend and mentor...

 

[KaErZeD]

Je voulais annoncer le décès d'un membre de longue date du TDIclub et de l'un de mes meilleurs amis, Brian Hague, connu ici sous le nom de @alphaseinor . Brian est décédé dans son sommeil mardi soir (ce qui aurait été le 5), à San Antonio, TX. Brian a été le pionnier du mk4 5 speed swap/writeup, était un passionné de TDI jusqu'à la fin (il avait un BRM et un Tesla), a possédé son propre magasin VW/TDI pendant de nombreuses années à Denton, TX (DigiSport Performance). Il m'a appris l'essentiel de ce que je sais avec les TDI, et nous partagions tous les deux une passion pour les ordinateurs vintage. Si ce n'était pas pour Brian, je ne serais pas capable de faire pratiquement une courroie de distribution ALH dans mon sommeil (ils ne sont pas si durs, promesse pinky). Il m'aidait aussi avec mon Ute, dont je ne sais pas quoi faire maintenant, puisque c'était notre projet ensemble. De toute façon,
Bonjour triste nouvelle que son âme puisse reposer en paix courage pkoury .
B


[/CITATION]

 

[KaErZeD]

Bonjour
triste nouvelle que son âme puisse reposer en paix courage pkoury.

 

[pkhoury]

Yes thanks for the pictures…..for some reason I thought he was older….closer to my age…I’m 61…....didn’t realize he was 44…

You're welcome. I'm 43 and he's about a year and 9 months older than me. The photo with the five of us - those are all friends from the DFW retro computer club (which is as informal as TDIclub, if not more informal). Our friend Chris (his house) I think is also 61. He makes these killer homemade pizzas in a propane-fired stone furnace in his backyard, and even makes the dough from scratch. So the five of us collect retro computers (Brian actually introduced me to the club back in 2019 and we all made new friends as a result). The youngest in that photo is in his mid 30s, so probably about the same age distribution as most of TDIclub. Chris (guy on the far left) was also a car enthusiast. No TDI, but his wife is on her second GTI (she opted for DSG, but they were previously an all manual transmission family).

 

[turbobrick240]

Wow, he must have been a month or two younger than me. That's way too young. My mother's older brother died from a massive heart attack at 38 just a couple of days before Christmas in '82. He had sent a gingerbread house that arrived the day before he died. He was a car guy and got a little Austin Healey roadster after coming back from being stationed in Germany.

Edit- I had dinner at my uncle's tonight and watched the Red Sox beat up on the Tigers- anyhow, he informed me that his brother actually brought the Austin Healey 3000 with him back from Germany. Cool car.

 

[AndyBees]

Wow, he must have been a month or two younger than me. That's way too young. My mother's older brother died from a massive heart attack at 38 just a couple of days before Christmas in '82. He had sent a gingerbread house that arrived the day before he died. He was a car guy and got a little Austin Healey roadster after coming back from being stationed in Germany.

My brother, had a heart-attack in '95 at age 38. It was Labor Day weekend. We had spent the weekend off-roading with 4X4s, ATVs, mud buggies, etc. He lived in Shreveport, LA at the time, single. He was visiting back home here in KY for the holiday and staying with our dad. He come by my place in the afternoon on Labor Day complaining about hurting in his neck and jaw....... much longer story. Anyway, I advised him to go to the emergency room. The next morning he had the big one... clot buster shot saved his life. The Dr that did his stint said he had had an attack three to five years earlier... my brother remembered the incident, five years earlier when he was 33. He had by-surgery in 2015 at age 58. He had by-pass surgery on his right leg in Jan, 2020 right before all the COVID restrictions..... he's a stopped up mess. He's a computer guru..... he spends way too much time on his arse in front of a screen. But, don't we all?

 

[boertje]

Wow, Brian was a genius in my book. He helped me in so many ways on the trans swaps. He will be missed.