This was terrific fun because he listened to my suggestions. After a few years, he asked me to read his books in manuscript. We took an instant liking to each other, & had dinners & drinks. The most interesting of them all was Bill. One of the best things about my profession(I’m the director of a library) is that I get to meet a lot of interesting people. Life will be a little colder and less interesting without his presence. Even when centered in Thailand he managed to come and see his father every few months, and he was about to come here again when his tragic death occurred, completely without warning. He was always a leader in family or social gatherings and he will be much missed in Urbana, where he had a great many friends as well as relations, though he never lived here, since he was already grown-up when his parents moved here in 1969. Maybe that was the secret of his success as a writer. But he was also very honest about his true feelings, which he expressed quite forcefully-once he was sure they wouldn’t hurt anyone else he was fond of. Billy had an almost uncanny understanding of personal relationships and was always concerned about what others thought and what they wanted to feel. (People in the family went on calling him by his childhood name Billy, even when he grew up, because his father is named Bill.) As his uncle by marriage, I’ve known him since he was a teenager and always relished his friendship, his humor, and his genuine efforts to get to know me and break down any barriers between us. I was very fond of Billy and will miss him a lot. It’s comforting to know that Billy’s spirit will live on in his wonderful books. In the Christmas carols, he always sang the part of the Myrrh king in “We Three Kings.” (“Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying”-he loved that line.) He also cooked the Christmas geese, which were always delicious.Ī few years ago Billy visited us in Rochester and gave a talk at a nearby school we went along to hear it. Billy’s presence always added an extra level of fun and excitement. Some of my happiest memories are of gatherings with Billy and others in Urbana at Christmas time, with various assortments of friends and relatives. He would always compliment me and extol my virtues he always found ways of making me feel good about myself. Whenever I met him he always showed great interest in what I was doing. He was also extremely sensitive and considerate. He had an incredible variety of interesting experiences in his life, and he told about them with color and panache. He was perhaps the most entertaining person I’ve ever met.
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