Chester Maloney
March 24, 1959 — February 7, 2009
Chester George Maloney took the checkered flag after a long illness Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, Texas and went to be with his parents and his Lord on the opening night of the new stock car racing season. He was 49 years old, and will be missed by his family and by his friends more than he could ever know. Chester was born on March 24, 1959 in Montpelier, Vt., which is not far from his favorite race track, Barre, Vt.'s Thunder Road International Speedbowl. His parents, Wesley Robert Maloney and Marion Avis Keene Maloney, raised him in Waterbury, Vt., where Chester attended public schools and graduated from nearby Harwood Union High School in Moretown. Chester loved God, children, animals, '60s sitcoms and old television game shows. But Chester had gasoline in his veins, and for him, cars -- particularly fast cars and NASCAR racing -- were a love unto themselves. When Chester was a young boy, Ken Squier took him to his first stock car race one Cub Scout night at Milton, Vt.'s Catamount Stadium. In the feature race, defending Vermont state champion Clem "Desperate" Despault's gas pedal stuck to the floor and his 1957 Chevy went through the turn three fence and flew off across a field and into the woods. Chester was hooked, and auto racing became his lifelong passion. Always a racing fan, Chester hung out in garages, bought and traded cars and their parts and worked on race cars or street cars -- usually for no pay -- as an enthusiast and as a backyard mechanic. For too few years Chester realized his dream of being a racing driver in the sport's minor leagues on the Southern California stock car circuit, where his combative, fender-bending driving style regularly resulted in fistfights in the pit areas after races. Chester proudly carried his NASCAR driver's license in his wallet -- right next to his much-ticketed state driver's license --to the end of his life. Chester's friends were the only thing more important to him than a fast car with a big V8, and all of his close friendships became lifelong relationships and an important part of Chester's "family." He met Arthur Cubit in grade school, and through Arthur, his "second" family, the Rachel and Percy Cubits of Waterbury -- including the Perrys and other grandchildren -- whose members are too numerous to name. Chester was always grateful for his racing experience to friends and car owners Bob and Mary Saunders, Louis Leseberg and Randy Deetz and to his other California friends who helped out at the track or hung around to work on cars. After the passing of his mother, Chester moved to Schertz, Texas, to be with his father, and after his father's death, Chester lived out the final years of his own life in his father's home, as was his wish. Survivors include his brothers, Ron and Wesley R. Maloney Jr. and his son, Tyler, all of Schertz; his sister, Mary Beth Littlefield, her husband Allen and their sons, Bradley and Bretton, and their families. Also surviving are his nieces, Jennifer and Nicole Koch, the Cubit and Perry clans of Vermont, numerous cousins, and friends Arthur Cubit, Barbara Wilson, Tahni Martin, Mary Saunders, Louis Leseberg and Randy Deetz. A memorial service for close friends and family will be conducted in Schertz, Texas, on Saturday, Feb. 14. A graveside gathering for Vermont friends and family will be announced at a later date.
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