Oct 26, 1948 - Nov 11, 2010
We decided not to go south this winter for fear that Jim's brother was failing. He has been fighting pancreatic cancer since diagnosed last New Year's Day and we were afraid he was running out of luck. We had a great visit this summer when he came east between chemo treatments. The brothers worked together in the blazing hot summer sun and you would never have guessed that Bill was a cancer patient. His hair was a little thin on top but he worked all day with a smile on his face and said how much he enjoyed swinging a hammer and running a saw. Bill was a carpenter by trade.
Each time we called him this Fall, he said...."Doing fine, feeling great, maybe a little upset stomach or a little tired today." He knew that he had a terminal disease but he was determined to keep going as long as he could. When we talked last week, he had just bought a ragtop jeep and was thinking about getting an RV and hitting the road if he could just get this next round of chemo over.
Jim called him Monday after his planned chemo treatment, but there was no answer that day or the next. We thought he might be feeling lousy and not in the mood to talk but our level of concern rose with each day of silence. Today we found out that he missed his chemo treatment and we had the Flagstaff police go to his home for a wellness check. They found him in the bedroom. He had collapsed and was gone.
We will miss his dry humor, his strong opinions, his deep, deep voice, our bourbon-fueled discussions into the wee hours of Christmas morning and most of all his love of family.