I guess the most important thing I have to say about Bill is that he was one of those people who could always make me feel good no matter how bad my day had been, and he made me feel like what I was doing was worthwhile no matter what others thought. (I won't repeat the precise advice he generally gave me, but those of you who knew him well know precisely what it was because he probably gave it to you too). He applied the liberal arts in their classic sense--he was liberated and he encouraged others to be liberated as well. I loved his refusal to abide by social norms that made no sense to him, his bluntness, the way he supported underdogs, his many good works, his confident irreverence, his creativity, his loyalty to his family and friends, and his raucous, infectious laugh. I can still hear him yelling down the hall in Graham "is anyone awake down there? It is like a morgue around here." (I do hope his memorial was lively!)
As a head he had a way of making all of us in the Sociology Department feel valued and supported. I remember when laser pointers first came out and were very expensive. I was teaching a huge class and said in passing that it was too bad the department couldn't afford one because it would have been useful. The next day the top-of-the-line model was on my desk--I am quite sure it was a present from Bill not a gift of the State of NC.
My daughter Hadley grew up around the Sociology Department. Bill loved that, for some unknown reason, she named her Keds "Bill Knox" and "Bill Knox." They used to talk to each other like puppets as she sat in her car seat in the back seat. The real Bill Knox would always ask after them when he saw Hadley, and they would have a silly conversation about how the two other Bill Knoxes were behaving (always badly). Just as Bill could easily see the world from my perspective and provide me what I needed without being asked, he was also perfectly able to see the world from a toddler's perspective. This broad and deep empathetic insight made him an incredible sociologist, an amazing teacher, and a wonderful human being. I will think of him every time I need a boost and will feel better after laughing out loud.