It's with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of long time RX-7 enthusiast Mark Wiser, aka Kentetsu. Though he fought with the strength of a king, Mark lost his battle with cancer on 9/11/23. Mark was a devoted husband and father, RX-7 enthusiast, and a great guy all around. His wife stated that she will announce arrangements. Rest in peace Kentetsu, you will be missed sir.

 

Man that's a name that goes way back on here.

 

Saddened to hear this, he was a board mainstay and the backbone of knowledge and experience here. We're sure to miss him dearly. Prayers to his family,

 

Wow! Another one of us ... gone.

I never had any off-board interactions with him, but I thought highly of him from his posts. This is definitely sad to hear and my heart goes out to his family for their grief.

 

Very sad indeed. Always came across as a standup guy. Thoughts for his family

 

I see him almost every time I come here in the "what did you do to your FB today" thread!

That's the biggest one here, right? More than 8000 replies and 800,000 views!

 

RIP

I liked following his autocross exploits when I first joined the forum.

 

sad to hear he's gone. RIP buddy, u will be missed.

yep, i know that thread, check it every time there's new posts. saw in his profile he hasn't been on here since 2021.

 

He will be missed, and so will his knowledge and experience that he shared with the RX7 community.

 

Sad to hear about another member passing away. Thoughts and prayers for his family.

 

Thanks for letting us know Dave. Cancer Sucks, RIP Kentetsu. This place will be lesser without you.

 

It's a very sad day for the RX-7 community.

Mark was a frequent visitor down here in Georgia and the North Carolina mountains.

He would drive his red FB down from Michigan, regularly winning the Iron Butt award at RX-7 events.

His frequent visits included regular visits to DGRR and camping at Road Atlanta for the Mitty.

One night, after the Mitty wrapped up, he camped out in our back yard.

He especially loved the Blue Ridge Rotary Rally (B3R) meetings, with their cold nights camping in the mountains.

An especially memorable occasion was the fall 2012 B3R.

After a terrific weekend all in attendance packed up to leave on the last day.

Except Mark, who decided to spend an extra evening, camping alone.

During which he was visited by a bear.

Having befriended the bear, the next morning he headed north in a blinding snowstorm that hit overnight.

We were all glad to get his cheerful announcement that he'd arrived home safely.

Nothing phased that guy, not even cancer.

Some pictures from the fall 2012 and fall 2013 B3R meetings:










More from the Mitty:

 

Respect. I solo camped in my Rx7 exactly ONCE. I had to use the rear tow point as an anchor for my tent pole line, with the other end of the tent tied to a tree for support. I had the bare minimums to make it just the few days I was camping, but that's how memories are made.

 

Very sad news. His username really brings me back to the old days on here...

Thanks for sharing Dave.

 

Very sad news. Condolences to his family and all.

 

Mark was a member of several sports car groups here in Southwest Michigan, attending many autocross events running in CSP in the day.
He had a knack for squeezing every tenth of a second out of the courses, using common sense and simple solutions.
Many in the RX-7 community and beyond will miss his input and enthusiasm.

 

it is sad news. i never got the chance to meet him, but his thread is the most used on here, its a big contribution.

 

Yeah I definitely learned a lot from his input on here when I 1st discovered this forum. Sad news. **** cancer.

 

oh, wow.

I hadn't seen him in a long time but he was always fun to hang out with at DGRR. I took him for a spin in my GT-R and blew his mind I think.

RIP. Another car guy gone too early.

 

Met Mark in the late 00's shortly after I had got my TII running. He got me into autox and later FB's after he mopped the floor with my FC on several occasions. It was always the highlight of my month being able to race with him and spend time with his wonderful family. The past couple years I've been helping Mark with maintenance on his car and will continue to mentor one of his sons to keep his car on the road. He was a great guy that will be sorely missed.

First drive with Mark

Mark's wake

 

Rest in peace Kentetsu. You will be deeply missed.
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Damn he and I joined the forum within days of each other.... sad to see him go.