Update: He Smiled 'Through His Hurt & Pain'

Updated 9:30 a.m. Monday with more reminiscences

James Peeff, 25, of Walnut Creek, who died when his speeding motorcycle struck a minivan in Livermore late Thursday night, "was a great, warm-hearted guy," said co-worker Pam Limtiaco.

Limtiaco works at on Industrial Way in Livermore, where Peeff had worked since June 2009.

"He was a funny guy who did as he pleased but respected others," wrote friend Lindsay Van Buskirk in an email to Patch. "He was always the one friend in our group that would constantly get on our ass for doing bad even if he was doing the same things. He just wanted us all to shape up. He cared so deeply for others. I even witnessed him sock one of our friends in the face because he found out he was using again. He did it out of love."

His passion was for street bikes. "We rode around for a while on his bike and the first thing he said was, 'Let's go for a ride, I promise you it will make you let go and forget about all the bad and clear your mind,'" said Van Buskirk. "He was right. It sure did."

"He was the type of guy that would go out of his way to lend a hand to anyone in need," Limtiaco wrote in an email to Patch. "We all here will miss him dearly!!! After losing his father in July he had such a hard time. He kept smiling through his hurt and pain. He had a smile that would warm your heart."

Peeff's father, also named James Peeff, was a carpenter who died July 10 at the age of 55.

'Tore him apart'

"James was going through a lot," said Van Buskirk. "He lost his father July 10 and it tore him apart. He then found his new hobby / love, riding street bikes. James owns three street bikes — two Ducatis and a Honda — and we kept telling him to be careful because he had crashed twice before and after every crash he went out and bought a new bike so this obviously shows his love for bikes."

Co-worker Alanna Sanchez also remembered his good heart. "If you needed help, he would lend you a hand," she said.

Peeff was buffed out from lifting weights, "like a baby Arnold Schwarzenegger," said Sanchez.

He became the type of friend at work you could confide in, she said, "a good listener." He passed along good advice. He told Sanchez some details when he broke up with a girlfriend, and he told her that he wanted to start a family.

h, saying he had just bought the motorcycle a few weeks ago and that he was jolted by the death of his father.

Van Buskirk and her boyfriend last saw Peeff a few days ago when he was waxing his motorcycle at their place, then left for Livermore and work. "The last thing he said to us was, 'Call you when I get back!'"