<body><div>MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A customer of the man who died in a crash while riding his motorcycle on the Beltline is remembering the tattoo artist as someone who loved his work.The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Ted Heffner, 71, as the person who died in the wreck. The crash happened Tuesday morning near the Seminole Hwy. exit on the Beltline as Custom Tattooing Arts Studios was burning about one mile away. According to MPD and Dane County Court records, Heffner owned and lived at the tattoo shop.Ron Gratz is one of Heffner’s loyal customers who spoke with the 71-year-old days before he died.”He’s a big bike guy from the 70s, so kind of intimidating, but deep down he was a really nice guy and he cared for people too and he loved his work,” Gratz said. “We always talked about next time, what we’re going to do next time so I’ll have to figure that out.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1LYTOr_0nVtbw6b00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1LYTOr_0nVtbw6b00" width="980" height="551" ></figure>Gratz started going to Heffner’s tattoo shop one year ago. He said the two became close during his tattoo sessions, and Heffner shared that he’d recently separated with his wife.”It’s really sad. I hope he’s at peace at everything,” Gratz said.Gratz’s tattoos mean a lot to him, from commemorating his family trips to honoring his husband, he said they now hold a different memory to him, his friend.”I drove by last night and, you know, no more tattoos,” he said. “These tattoos that he did will mean a bit more. We weren’t quite don’t yet, he had a few more touchups to do, so I’ll have to think about that down the road.”NBC15 News reached out to Heffner’s family members but have not received a response yet.</div></body>

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Tattoo customer remembers artist who died in Madison motorcycle crash

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A customer of the man who died in a crash while riding his motorcycle on the Beltline is remembering the tattoo artist as someone who loved his work. The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Ted Heffner, 71, as the person who died in the wreck. The crash happened Tuesday morning near the Seminole Hwy. exit on the Beltline as Custom Tattooing Arts Studios was burning about one mile away. According to MPD and Dane County Court records, Heffner owned and lived at the tattoo shop.