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A Great Mentor and Friend

January 30, 2013

Bill was a mentor of mine. Bill was also a brilliant and creative attorney who was very loyal to his good friend, Peter W. Nauert, who predeceased him. Together, they helped gropw a small insurance company into a NYSE publicly traded stock insurance company, a very proud achievement for both. The stories of Bill and Peter were legendary at Pioneer. Few people gave enough credit to Bill in helping to build Pioneer, but Peter W. Nauert recognized to me and many others that he could not have done it without Bill as his counsel and dear friend.
Bill had a marvelous sense of humor and history. Bill also served our country as an Officer in the U.S. Navy and as a courageous member of an underwater demolition team in the most nobble of wars, WW II. Bill loved to tell the story how a ranking officer asked who wanted to lead the squadron, everyone took a step back except Bill. Hence, Bill became the Head Of The Squadron and the first in the water on each mission. Bill would chuckle each time he told the story. 
In the quiet moments Bill and I shared when we were eating dinner at his Club in Rockford, flying on Pioneer's Jet and on business trips, Bill would regale me with the stories of his children who he adored and loved. Though he loved each equally, I got to know Monica, Monica's husband, Pat, and Bill the best of all and they each shared with me at various times their true affection, admiration and love for their parents and Pat for his in-laws. It was laways heart-warming to hear.
Bill was a unique and uncommon man who epitomized "The Greatest Generation" which Tom Brokaw described so well. Bill left a legacy of warm, bright, creative and beautiful children as well as many who looked up to him as they pursued their own careers. Bill was an irreplaceable human being who will be missed by all who knew him well. As Bill would so often say:"G-d love you".

the Jaguar

January 27, 2013
Patti & I lived across the street from the Van Vleets for many years. We had children about the same ages as their grandchildren, and both Monica and Mark were very close to us. Many people mistook me for Terri"s husband and we partied with them many many times. When Bill had his heart bypass surgery he had a new Jaguar which I greatly admired. When he came home from the hospital he was not supposed to drive for one month so he called me over and said that I could use his Jaguar until he was cleared to drive. This was totally okay with me since the Jag was a big upgrade from my Taurus. As you can imagine the Jag "ruined" me forever! When Bill"s eyesight deteriorated so much he could no longer drive, I bought that Jaguar from him and subsequently bought four others, one of which I have kept in my car collection. Patti thinks Bill "spoiled" me so much by that "loan" that I have never been able to drive a"normal" car since. Bill, Lynne, and all the family have always been "family" to us and while we will miss Bill very much, we look forward to staying in touch to the rest of you. It was especially rewarding to visit with Bill, Lynne, and Susie just last week.

Thanks from the White House

January 26, 2013

When Dad was discharged from the Navy, his papers included a personal note of thanks from the President of the United States, Harry Truman.  He received an honorable discharge and served on three different ships, the USS LST 607, USS LSM 393 and USS LST 588.  For his service Dad received the Vicroty Ribbon wor World War II and the American Theater Ribbon for the Asiatic Pacific.

The Sinking of the USS Van Vleet

January 26, 2013

Dad and I learned to sail on Lake Geneva through his friend Gene Horvath.  Dad had so much fun that one night, over drinks, he told Gene "if you ever see a great deal on a boat, buy it for me".  Several weeks later Gene called Dad and said, "Bill, I've got your boat" and showed up in our driveway in Rockford with a wooden 20-foot Melges D-scow that had been in dry dock.  He'd gotten it from a widow who had it stored in a barn for several years after her husband and son had passed away.  Since it was in dry storage, the boat was in quite a state of disrepair.  You could see daylight through the hull because the wood shrank from years of no use.  

We made it a project to restore the old boat, replacing the canvas deck, varnishing the hull and restitching the sails.  To prepare the boat to be launched, we parked it in the front yard and ran a hose in the hull day and night to get it to swell up.  It worked, the hull swelled shut and a week later we took it to Silver Lake, Wi to launch it and moor it at the cottage.  I remember the day well.  It was a beautiful Memorial Day weekend and much fanfare was made of our boat, since it was the largest one on the lake.  The press even showed up and took pictures as we towed the boat from the launching dock at Camp Waushara to our cottage around Chicago Point.  Along the way, we started taking on water.  I pumped furiously as Dad steered the boat to the dock.  To Dad's embarassment, the boat sank right up to the deck and he suffered a lot of jokes from the locals that night.

The next day though, we went out to the boat, pumped out all of the water and the boat was as good as new.  Once the hull had a chance to fully swell shut overnight, it sailed like a dream.  We sailed every weekend of every summer of my high school years, allowing us to have many great conversations and leaving many fond memories.

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