Thad F Behm's Obituary
Most people remember Thad as a gentleman. He would often scurry out of his way to hold a door for a lady.
Although he studied Kenpo Karate under several masters, achieving his black belt, he was known as a gentle philosopher. The gentle philosopher who could “kick his way out of a paper sack”.
Thad was a great lover of motorcycles. Of course, our mom said no, so he kept his motorcycle at a neighbors’ house. He was fearless: He would round corners at such a high speed, the rubber foot pegs would wear down to the steel struts. For years, he had a Triumph motorcycle. He hot-rodded it with an over-bore kit. Our dad used to say, “he was faster than a strip-ped a**ed ape”.
In 1978 he started to study philosophy. He read the Tao Te Ching, Buddha, and the German philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Fredrich Hegel. He would wow his friends by quoting chapter and verse; plus, the page number and which paragraph it was on the page.
Thad was one of the most creative people I know. Through his whole life, he was dogged by schizophrenia. In virtually every conversation we had he would say, “I’m living in a wise man’s purgatory”.
We all enjoyed and will miss his subtle sense of humor. I never was with him that he didn’t make me laugh out loud.
What’s your fondest memory of Thad?
What’s a lesson you learned from Thad?
Share a story where Thad's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Thad you’ll never forget.
How did Thad make you smile?