Remembering LaMark "Hangman" Bejer - Deacon 097

LaMark came to the Deacons in an unlikely way.He liked to hang out at the Alabama Ice House. One night, half a dozen bikers who go to that Ice House showed up at one of our monthly meetings, and that meeting happened to be the night at which LaMark’s Club sponsor was going to introduce LaMark to us. These guys just were not what our Club was looking for, and they all were politely discouraged from trying to join. LaMark was bundled with those guys, and we all thought that would be the last we would see of him.Turned out we were wrong. His sponsor told the Club that LaMark was not part of the grimy crew that had showed up uninvited, and that LaMark was a great guy who would be an asset to the Deacons.  We rounded him up and he became our 97th Member.LaMark was all at once outgoing but a bit reserved; happy but not boisterous. He was one of those guys who was always around without calling attention to himself. LaMark logged thousands of miles on his bike with our Club. He was with us in Sturgis, the Lonesome Dove Ride that went from Montana to Houston, Big Bend, the Hill Country, the Ozarks and all the other long rides we take. He did not have an extended family, and in many ways, the Deacons became his family.LaMark’s business was called LaMark of Excellence, which was the most respected fine art display company in Houston. He hung artwork in many of Houston’s museums, and he was the turn to guy for folks like Bob McNair, owner of the Houston Texans, and oil man J.P. Bryan. J. P. owns the Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas. The Gage is the finest hotel in West Texas, and is a long time Deacons’ destination. LaMark hung all the artwork at the Gage, including the striking white buffalo in the bar.LaMark is the only Deacon to be killed on his bike. He came up fast on an accident that was being worked by an EMS Unit. He hit his brakes to avoid the accident scene and went down. A car following too close ran him over and he was dead at the scene. The news of LaMark’s passing was sudden and filled the Club with both shock and grief. The love for LaMark shown by our Members was universal was a testament to the man he was.When he passed, his family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Deacons’ Charity because they knew that’s what LaMark would have wanted.