ForeverMissed
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This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, William (Bill) Schimeck, 82 years old, born on December 24, 1938, and passed away on August 1, 2021. He will always be with us in our hearts and precious memories he left us with. We will remember him forever and always.

*Memorial Luncheon and Service will be held on October 2, 2021, at the Polish American Club of Greater Sacramento located at 327 Main Street, Roseville, CA 95678, beginning at 11:30am. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to me by either calling/texting 916-214-0400 or emailing gayschimeck@gmail.com, no later than September 15, 2021. We need a final head count for the caterer no later than that date. Thank you!*

Please go to the Life tab to read more about Bill's life and please feel free to add your special photos of/with Bill and any stories or memories you would like to share with the family. We would love to see and hear them all!

***If you are having any symptoms of a cold or flu or suspect you have been exposed to Covid, we will have a virtual way for you to attend the memorial. Bill would never want to be the cause of any of his friends and family becoming ill in celebrating his life. Thank you.


Tributes

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Chrissy Mccord
December 24, 2021
December 24, 2021
Happy Birthday dad! I imagine you are celebrating big today. So much has happened since you left, but I know You have been there for it all. I can Feel you, I just wish I could talk to you. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you. It’s still so hard, but I know in time it will be easier to just celebrate you instead of miss you. Love you more, Happy Birthday❤️
Chrissy Mccord
October 2, 2021
October 2, 2021
​As you all can imagine this is not an easy task. Some of you have already had to do this, and some will face this one day. Trying to say something about my dad that could even come close to the depths of what he was, and still is to me, is impossible. I have spent so much time reflecting on the sheer volume of impact that he had on my life. For those that knew our story, know there are no words that are worthy to describe what he was to me. It’s been hard to put into words losing him. At times I have felt guilty for not being able to express just how great he was, or how strongly his absence has been felt. I have come to realize through my reflection, that words were not what was important to my dad. 
“What a man does has far more impact than what he says”, in putting together my dad’s memorial page my mom and I came across this quote. There aren’t any words that could more accurately describe my dad. He was a doer, and he did for so many. When my husband Sam first came into our family, he would always laugh about how my mom would need one thing at the grocery store and my dad would jump up and be in the car. We would laugh and speculate it was just because he wanted to smoke his cigar on the way to the store. But the truth was, he did it because my dad showed his love by doing things for the people he loved.
My dad had so many interests and hobbies over the course of his life. Sailing and golf were probably his greatest passions, but he always left time to try new things. He loved learning. And My dad always wanted his family to be involved. So if my dad was into cycling, we all cycled. If my dad was learning to fly fish, we all learned by listening to him talk about the fundamentals of angling the pole. When mom and dad were into running, Corey and I ran right along with them. I have a memory of it being evening in the middle of the week, in winter, already dark. Mom would stuff cotton balls in our ears because the cold would burn, and we would head out on a family jog. The back packing trips….oh, the trips that dad would take us on. Dad was insistent that we carry our own supplies. Feeling like I was going to fall over, with blisters all over my feet. I use to cry, “Why do we have to go too?” Why can’t we stay in hotels and go to Disneyland like normal families? But now I know. 1. Now, those are memories that we all look back on fondly, those experiences were true family time. 2. It’s because dad wanted to show us the world. He wanted to experience everything he could in this life and he wanted his family and friends right by his side, doing it together.
He would spend a lot of his time reading. The safe bet was to get dad a book. He loved history, loved learning about different cultures, and places. He loved music, classical especially. He loved the dumbest movies. I grew up watching the 80’s comedies and horror movies that most parents wouldn’t let there kids watch. I have never seen my dad laugh so hard as the first time he watched A Christmas story. If you look at some of the pictures on the wall today, you will see that movie is set in my dad’s era of growing up. He said that was exactly his childhood in Detroit.
He loved the theatre, especially musicals. Mom and dad, would take my kids to San Francisco and take them to the theatre. Mackenzie would use our stairs and perform the Sound of Music, after a weekend at my parents. Mom and dad took Mackenzie on a trip to Tahoe when she was barely two. Dad insisted on renting The wizard of Oz for Mackenzie, even though mom thought that it would be too scary. Once they turned it on she didn’t move a muscle. Mackenzie was mesmerized. She spent here childhood in a Wizard of Oz themed room. Dad would take Cavin golfing, but soon realized that if Cavin couldn’t tackle somebody he wasn’t very interested. That was ok with dad, he was just happy to see that Cavin had a passion, and my dad was a pretty big Bulldog fan. Averie was his girl, this spring he used every bit of strength to get himself to her La Crosse game and surprise her. He was his grankids’ number one fan and was always there to cheer them on. My children were able to experience so much because of my dad. In my dad’s final days my husband thanked him for helping us raise our kids and that couldn’t be more accurate. He was so much more than just a Papa. 
Thanks to the invention of YouTube, my dad was able to continue to learn and explore, even in this last year of health issues and Covid. He would spend his days watching videos of drones flying over his old neighborhood in Detroit, or hang out in Mexico. After 82 years, my dad still had things he wanted to learn and places he wanted to visit. 
Education was so important to my dad. He was always on us to study, to get good grades. Always asking “where are you going to college”. He would talk to his grandkids about how important getting an education was, he would talk to his friends, and their kids too. He believed that Education is the key to a great life. And just like everything else, he wanted to share that with everybody he loved. I was shocked to learn, that my dad didn’t get good grades in high school, and that he struggled with learning. Something he didn’t share until I was older. Somehow this makes his message of education so much more valuable. He didn’t give up, he just kept learning.
There are a lot of crappy things about knowing that somebody you love is going to die. But the silver lining is that you get to have a lot of conversations that most people don’t get. We, as a family got moments with my dad in those last days that will carry us through. My dad got to have a talk with all his grandkids. My sister Jill, and brother Corey, also got to spend a lot of private time with him. Of course mom and him had an opportunity to say their goodbyes, with his last breath he was able to make sure that she knew that she was the love of his life. 
I was able to spend a lot of time with my dad as well, and I had the opportunity to ask him what he thought was next for him. My dad really wanted to be able to spend time with his friends in his last days, unfortunately he rapid decline interfered with that. So, I really feel like he would want me to share his response with everybody here.
He told me that he didn’t really think about what’s next. He had been spending his time reflecting on his life. He hoped that he had never intentionally hurt anybody and caused them permanent damage. He hoped that he had touched one or two people and that they would remember him as being kind. My dad was humble, he was never one to boast. But looking around this room today, it is evident that my dad touched so many more than just one or two people. He wasn’t a man of words, he was a man of action. If my dad could say anything to us today, I think it would be to; keep exploring, keep learning, keep growing as people. So the next time you step out of your comfort zone, try something new, or take a trip to a foreign place, think of my dad, William Schimeck. I Know that this is the best way we can honor him. He was a do’er, Do things and think of him.
“What a man does has far more impact than what his says”

Each one of you in this room had different experiences with my dad, you knew a part of him different than the rest of us. I know that he is here with us today and I am so glad that he gets to see all the people that he touched, all the kindness that he spread. Please honor my dad, by sharing your stories of him with us. We would love to hear how he impacted your life. If you don’t feel that you can share today, please write your story on his memorial page. It offers all of us comfort to be able to visit this page in times of struggle.
Terry Dugan
August 26, 2021
August 26, 2021
I played in the Tuesday golf group with Bill for several years and always looked forward to his companionship there, especially when we shared a cart. He was always very patient with my inconsistent game and was in all ways a true gentleman on the course. We enjoyed sharing stories of life at our cabins and how we were constantly planning or making repairs. In the last few years neither of us played as much but I never forgot Bill’s generous smile and ready humor. Thanks for sharing the photos. Like all of you, I will miss him, but will continue to enjoy my memories of him.
Terry Dugan

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Recent Tributes
Chrissy Mccord
December 24, 2021
December 24, 2021
Happy Birthday dad! I imagine you are celebrating big today. So much has happened since you left, but I know You have been there for it all. I can Feel you, I just wish I could talk to you. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you. It’s still so hard, but I know in time it will be easier to just celebrate you instead of miss you. Love you more, Happy Birthday❤️
Chrissy Mccord
October 2, 2021
October 2, 2021
​As you all can imagine this is not an easy task. Some of you have already had to do this, and some will face this one day. Trying to say something about my dad that could even come close to the depths of what he was, and still is to me, is impossible. I have spent so much time reflecting on the sheer volume of impact that he had on my life. For those that knew our story, know there are no words that are worthy to describe what he was to me. It’s been hard to put into words losing him. At times I have felt guilty for not being able to express just how great he was, or how strongly his absence has been felt. I have come to realize through my reflection, that words were not what was important to my dad. 
“What a man does has far more impact than what he says”, in putting together my dad’s memorial page my mom and I came across this quote. There aren’t any words that could more accurately describe my dad. He was a doer, and he did for so many. When my husband Sam first came into our family, he would always laugh about how my mom would need one thing at the grocery store and my dad would jump up and be in the car. We would laugh and speculate it was just because he wanted to smoke his cigar on the way to the store. But the truth was, he did it because my dad showed his love by doing things for the people he loved.
My dad had so many interests and hobbies over the course of his life. Sailing and golf were probably his greatest passions, but he always left time to try new things. He loved learning. And My dad always wanted his family to be involved. So if my dad was into cycling, we all cycled. If my dad was learning to fly fish, we all learned by listening to him talk about the fundamentals of angling the pole. When mom and dad were into running, Corey and I ran right along with them. I have a memory of it being evening in the middle of the week, in winter, already dark. Mom would stuff cotton balls in our ears because the cold would burn, and we would head out on a family jog. The back packing trips….oh, the trips that dad would take us on. Dad was insistent that we carry our own supplies. Feeling like I was going to fall over, with blisters all over my feet. I use to cry, “Why do we have to go too?” Why can’t we stay in hotels and go to Disneyland like normal families? But now I know. 1. Now, those are memories that we all look back on fondly, those experiences were true family time. 2. It’s because dad wanted to show us the world. He wanted to experience everything he could in this life and he wanted his family and friends right by his side, doing it together.
He would spend a lot of his time reading. The safe bet was to get dad a book. He loved history, loved learning about different cultures, and places. He loved music, classical especially. He loved the dumbest movies. I grew up watching the 80’s comedies and horror movies that most parents wouldn’t let there kids watch. I have never seen my dad laugh so hard as the first time he watched A Christmas story. If you look at some of the pictures on the wall today, you will see that movie is set in my dad’s era of growing up. He said that was exactly his childhood in Detroit.
He loved the theatre, especially musicals. Mom and dad, would take my kids to San Francisco and take them to the theatre. Mackenzie would use our stairs and perform the Sound of Music, after a weekend at my parents. Mom and dad took Mackenzie on a trip to Tahoe when she was barely two. Dad insisted on renting The wizard of Oz for Mackenzie, even though mom thought that it would be too scary. Once they turned it on she didn’t move a muscle. Mackenzie was mesmerized. She spent here childhood in a Wizard of Oz themed room. Dad would take Cavin golfing, but soon realized that if Cavin couldn’t tackle somebody he wasn’t very interested. That was ok with dad, he was just happy to see that Cavin had a passion, and my dad was a pretty big Bulldog fan. Averie was his girl, this spring he used every bit of strength to get himself to her La Crosse game and surprise her. He was his grankids’ number one fan and was always there to cheer them on. My children were able to experience so much because of my dad. In my dad’s final days my husband thanked him for helping us raise our kids and that couldn’t be more accurate. He was so much more than just a Papa. 
Thanks to the invention of YouTube, my dad was able to continue to learn and explore, even in this last year of health issues and Covid. He would spend his days watching videos of drones flying over his old neighborhood in Detroit, or hang out in Mexico. After 82 years, my dad still had things he wanted to learn and places he wanted to visit. 
Education was so important to my dad. He was always on us to study, to get good grades. Always asking “where are you going to college”. He would talk to his grandkids about how important getting an education was, he would talk to his friends, and their kids too. He believed that Education is the key to a great life. And just like everything else, he wanted to share that with everybody he loved. I was shocked to learn, that my dad didn’t get good grades in high school, and that he struggled with learning. Something he didn’t share until I was older. Somehow this makes his message of education so much more valuable. He didn’t give up, he just kept learning.
There are a lot of crappy things about knowing that somebody you love is going to die. But the silver lining is that you get to have a lot of conversations that most people don’t get. We, as a family got moments with my dad in those last days that will carry us through. My dad got to have a talk with all his grandkids. My sister Jill, and brother Corey, also got to spend a lot of private time with him. Of course mom and him had an opportunity to say their goodbyes, with his last breath he was able to make sure that she knew that she was the love of his life. 
I was able to spend a lot of time with my dad as well, and I had the opportunity to ask him what he thought was next for him. My dad really wanted to be able to spend time with his friends in his last days, unfortunately he rapid decline interfered with that. So, I really feel like he would want me to share his response with everybody here.
He told me that he didn’t really think about what’s next. He had been spending his time reflecting on his life. He hoped that he had never intentionally hurt anybody and caused them permanent damage. He hoped that he had touched one or two people and that they would remember him as being kind. My dad was humble, he was never one to boast. But looking around this room today, it is evident that my dad touched so many more than just one or two people. He wasn’t a man of words, he was a man of action. If my dad could say anything to us today, I think it would be to; keep exploring, keep learning, keep growing as people. So the next time you step out of your comfort zone, try something new, or take a trip to a foreign place, think of my dad, William Schimeck. I Know that this is the best way we can honor him. He was a do’er, Do things and think of him.
“What a man does has far more impact than what his says”

Each one of you in this room had different experiences with my dad, you knew a part of him different than the rest of us. I know that he is here with us today and I am so glad that he gets to see all the people that he touched, all the kindness that he spread. Please honor my dad, by sharing your stories of him with us. We would love to hear how he impacted your life. If you don’t feel that you can share today, please write your story on his memorial page. It offers all of us comfort to be able to visit this page in times of struggle.
Terry Dugan
August 26, 2021
August 26, 2021
I played in the Tuesday golf group with Bill for several years and always looked forward to his companionship there, especially when we shared a cart. He was always very patient with my inconsistent game and was in all ways a true gentleman on the course. We enjoyed sharing stories of life at our cabins and how we were constantly planning or making repairs. In the last few years neither of us played as much but I never forgot Bill’s generous smile and ready humor. Thanks for sharing the photos. Like all of you, I will miss him, but will continue to enjoy my memories of him.
Terry Dugan
Gallery
My absolute favorite picture of my Mom & Dad. The love is pure & real!
Us, George, Eva, Adriana & Jim. Marge must have been the photographer.
Us with Jim & Marge in beautiful Hawaii.
Grandpa, Andy, Tommy, Jim & grandkids. This was before Grandpa realized he’d forgotten to put the back plug in & the canoe started sinking!
Nephew Steve, Bill, Nephew Dave & Brother Tom
Amigos at Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta
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His Life

Expressions of Love

August 22, 2021
by Gay Schimeck
William (Bill) Schimeck, loving husband of Patricia (Gay) Schimeck was born on December 24, 1938 in Detroit, Michigan to his parents William Herman Schimeck Jr. and Marianna Julia Pionteck. He was raised with his four siblings: Dolores Schimeck, Paul Schimeck, Charles Schimeck and Thomas Schimeck. He is survived by his sister Dolores and his brother Tom.

On his own, without talking to his parents first, he joined the Navy his senior year of high school. He entered active service May 13, 1957. This was always a special day to him. Every year on this day he would ask me, "Do you know what today is"? He always asked with such pride in his service to his country. During his 30 years of service he served in Great Lakes, Illinois, San Diego, California, on the U.S.S. Prairie (AD-15), Kodiak, Alaska and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While serving in Kodiak, Alaska in June 1959 he crossed the Arctic Circle and entered into the Realm of Boreas. His certificate of Arctic Greeting says: All ye Polar Bears, Walruses, Whales, Seals, and other inhabitants of the Polar Seas will recognize him as a brother. See what good company you're in Brother Tom!  While stationed on Christmas Island in 1962 he participated in and observed 26 nuclear tests in the Pacific with the Navy Task Group. He also was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Bronze Star and National Defense Service Medal.
 
While stationed in Hawaii in 1960, he met and married his first wife, Donna. When Bill left active duty they moved to Chico, California and he began attending and graduated from Chico State University. They had two daughters, Amy Lynn born September 15, 1963  and Jill Anne born January 10, 1966. He also began his 33 year career with the State of California in the Department of Rehabilitation as a Rehabilitation Counselor and Program Administrator. He also worked for and retired from the Department of Social Services as a Unit Manager in the In-Home Supportive Services for the Elderly program. He always took pride in and enjoyed the work he did, in that both jobs were helping people in need. He also enjoyed his work because of the life-long friends he made over the years and that continued to be in his life right up to the end.

Bill & I met in 1975 and married on February 11, 1978. When we married I had two children from my previous marriage, Corey Mitchell, born September 7, 1972 and Christine (Chrissy) Pamela born February 20, 1975. Bill was one of those special men who stepped in and up to raise not only his two girls but my two children who ultimately became his through adoption, which really didn't matter or make a difference in his love for them. There is a Father's Day saying:
           Any man can help make a child, but it takes a special man to help raise a child.
           He must be selfless.
           He must be responsible.
           He must be reliable.
           He must be a role model.
           Happy Father's Day to the men who are being real fathers.
                By Tony Gaskins
Bill was all of these and much more with his children and grandchildren and I believe all of them would not hesitate to tell you as much.

We shared 45 wonderful years together. I can't even begin to tell you all of the many loving and fun memories I have with this man. We could just spend time together doing nothing but enjoying each other or we could be doing lots of fun adventures together.

When I met him he was into tennis, cycling, skiing, backpacking, sailing and later on golf. We did them all together, plus more. Once we retired we traveled as much as we could with our family and many of our dear friends. We took some great backpack trips into beautiful back country and camped at some gorgeous lakes with our kids and with friends. We had a couple of very adventurous horse packing trips with a great groups of friends. We went to Hawaii many times, just the two of us, with the kids, grandkids and friends. We actually bought a condo in hopes to use it once we retired but never got the chance because of the market fall in 2008. We had several different sail boats over the years so we did a lot of sailing in the Delta and San Francisco Bay. After our friends, the Howards, invited us to go with them on a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico and a trip to Puerto Vallarta we fell in love with Mexico. Over the last several years that has been our go to place for wonderful, relaxing vacations. In 2017, thanks to the Roses', we along with 3 other couples took an awesome travel trailer trip to the perfect spot in Lander Wyoming on the Wind River Indian Reservation to see the eclipse.

As all of you or at least most of you know, Bill was Polish/German. I know, if asked, Bill would say that the trip that was the highlight of our travels for him was when the two of us went to Warsaw and Krakow, Poland, then met up with our friends, the Mekata's, to go on the Romantic Danube Viking River Cruise (Prague, Germany, Austria & Hungary). Being able to go to the countries of his heritage was very special to him.

When he retired in 2000 he got the job of his dreams working at Ancil Hoffman Golf Course as a starter in the Pro Shop. He loved it even though he'd have to get up at 4:00am so he could open the shop and get everything set up and ready before all of the golfers started showing up for their tee times. He also started playing golf more often with a great group of guys which became the Tuesday Golf Gang. He loved his time on and off the course with these friends and always looked forward to his Tuesday's with them. A few times after he got to where he couldn't golf anymore because of his back he would join them after they finished for lunch and a beer because he missed his time with them.

One of his other loves in his life, which was okay with me, was our little cabin in the woods at Dinkey Creek, California. We purchased this little 530 sq ft cabin in 2007. This was definitely his happy place. He loved sitting out on the deck, on his i-Pad reading or playing his card game, listening to his classical or jazz music and just watching & waving to our neighbors or campers as they passed by. The very special times he enjoyed were when the kids and grandkids would come spend time with us there. I could go on and on about all of the wonderful times and special memories I have from our years together, but I will stop here.

Unfortunately, the last 14 months of his life were difficult months for him. It took us 13 of them pushing and advocating for his needs to finally obtain an official diagnosis of what his health issue really was, which was Multiple Myeloma. From the time of diagnosis to the time of his passing was one, long, torturous month, but I have to say this sweet man kept astonishing everyone around him with his sweet nature and sense of humor right up to when it was no longer possible. We brought him home from the hospital on Monday, July 26th. The children and I had the honor of caring for him during his last days. He passed peacefully on Sunday evening, August 1st with his family surrounding him with love and assurances that we would take care of each other which meant we would be okay.

Bill might not have been my first love, but he was definitely the love of my life and will be for always and forever. Continuing life without him will not be easy for any of us and we all will miss him every minute of every day. Thank goodness we have each other and many dear friends to help us move forward as he would want us to. He was so proud of his children and grandchildren in anything and everything they did and was always so happy to see them mature and progress in their lives.

There was nothing more important to Bill than his family. He loved them more than they probably even know. Bill is survived by his four children, their spouses and his seven grandchildren: Amy Golonka (Bob, former spouse, Megan & Grant), Jill Larner (Greg, Andrew & Thomas), Corey (Tracy) and Chrissy (Sam, Mackenzie, Cavin & Averie).

 I love and miss you William. I look forward to the day when we will be together again!

Following are some loving thoughts of Jill, Corey and Chrissy of their Dad:

Jill:
It’s far too soon to be writing this.  Dad had too many things he still wanted to do, and interesting places he wanted to visit.  He was full of life and love, and he will be dearly missed!

Growing up I was very proud that he was my dad.  He was fun, interesting, and wickedly smart! We were always doing something fun.  We went backpacking, skiing, sailing, biking, played racquetball, and I’m sure other things I’m not remembering now.  I never learned to play tennis, golf, or pickle ball, but if I did, I could have done that with him too because he loved all three. 

Some of my fondest memories are of sailing San Francisco Bay in his Westsail 32, sailing around Alcatraz, under the Golden Gate, and then stopping in Sausalito for lunch. He loved sailing and we loved being his crew!

Dad knew a lot about pretty much everything, especially history and geography.  His National Geographic magazines spanned like 60 years.  As a family we would play Trivial Pursuit, and after a while we all just gave up; there was no competition!  He played a mean Scrabble game too, and I almost beat him once.  

Later when I had a family of my own, it was no surprise that Dad was a wonderful grandfather to my two sons. They too were proud to call him Grandpa.  I’m not sure Dad knew how much of a mentor he was to Thomas regarding his decision to serve in the Navy.  Thomas had planned for his first salute at his Commissioning Ceremony to be to his Grandpa.  Unfortunately, Dad’s illness and the pandemic kept that from happening as Thomas had wanted. I don’t know who was the prouder of the two, Dad of Thomas, or Thomas of his Grandpa.  

Dad still had more travelling to do, he loved Mexico and most recently Poland.  He wanted to go back again, but God had other plans for him.  I hope that one day I can go to Poland for him.  Until then, I will hold my memories of Dad and all the wonderful times with him close to my heart.  

Dad, thank you for being your fun-loving self, and for being a wonderful father and grandfather!

I love you with all my heart!  Your daughter “Jilly”.

Corey:
I was only three when I first met my Dad, so I am not going to pretend that I remember the first time I actually met him. But from the time I do remember him entering my life, he always treated me like his biological Son; because to him, I was. He didn’t have to but thankfully for me, he chose to. So much so, that I started calling him Dad & started using his last name as my own early in life. I asked him to adopt me when I turned eighteen so that I would legally be his Son.

I learned so many things from my Dad; things I might not have learned without having him in my life. I learned to love reading the newspaper, watching the evening news, & paying attention to politics & world events from him. Every school day he & I would read the newspaper together while eating cereal for breakfast. In the beginning I only wanted to read the comic strips but as I grew older he would patiently answer my questions about what was going on in the world & how those events shaped our world & then he would hand me the front pages to read while he went to get ready for work. By the time I was in highschool, I enjoyed reading the newspaper in its entirety. I still watch the nightly news most nights because he & I used to do it together.

I learned to love Classical & Jazz music. I wasn’t a fan of either genre growing up, but as I grew I appreciated the music he loved & began to understand that it was because he introduced it to me as a kid that I appreciated it. The music from the movie Amadeus came out in 1984/1985 & we bonded over that soundtrack.

Because of my Dad, I learned how to build things out of wood. Together we built fences, gazebos, wood sheds, & Boy Scout pine derby cars. He helped me create a backyard gate in the first house my wife Tracy & I owned. And I will never forget how he helped me replace the interior garage door in that same house because I stupidly locked myself out of the house one night & had to kick the door in. That was not an easy door to replace. It was very heavy for the two of us to balance & get just right, but we did it together. He didn’t have to come help me fix it, but he wanted to & we enjoyed our time together.

I learned to love back-packing in the back country from him. He & I went on so many back-pack trips that I would be lying if I said I remembered how many, but I was never scared or worried because I trusted he knew what he was doing, & I was right. We climbed Half Dome, Mount Lassen, & even Mount Shasta together. He & I went on several fifty-mile back-packing trips together as well. He sacrificed so many of his hard earned vacation days taking me & the rest of our family on back-packing trips. All the while introducing me to nature & how beautiful the earth is & that it should be respected.

If I remember correctly, I re-introduced my Dad to the game of golf when I started playing with my friends in my early twenties. I was always so nervous playing the game with him because he was so much better at it than I was. I accidentally killed a blackbird off a worm burning tee shot while playing with him at Mather in the late 90’s & typical of my Dad’s humor, he started laughing & said, “Hey, you finally scored a Birdie!” I was mortified, but couldn’t help laughing at his Dad joke. I really hope I didn’t embarrass him too much when he invited me to play golf with his friends.

He was in the back seat of the small Cessna type plane when his friend let me take the yoke while flying to and from the Nut Tree Airport; I don’t think I was older than twelve at the time. My Dad also rode in the back seat the last time I ever piloted a plane after going up a few times when first taking lessons. He trusted me enough to fly him around the edge of Lake Berryessa while doing turns & trying to perfect hitting my wake without losing altitude. Wow, talk about trusting someone with your life…he literally did.

I learned to love photography, bicycling, & sailing because of him. I even learned to love having anchovies & red pepper-corn on my pizza because he did.

But most importantly, I learned how to love, respect, & treat your spouse, family & strangers. Every day of my life, he was an example to me of how you should treat people in general & family in particular. I don’t always live up to his example but I am very grateful that I had his example to pattern from.

I will miss him very much, but I am glad he is no longer in pain. My Mom, my Sister’s Jill, & Chrissy, our families, my wife, Tracy, & I were blessed to have him in our lives. Everyone who knew him liked him & knew he was a good man with a big heart.

I hope he is proud of me. I love you Dad!!!

With a very heavy heart, Your Son who is very proud to call you my Dad!

Chrissy:
My dad had a love of scary movies when I was a child. At a very young age I had seen more horror movies than most adults, much less children. My dad would have us watch Friday the 13th with him, and then he would take every opportunity to scare us during the movie. For one of my slumber parties we were watching a scary movie and my dad slipped out the back dressed in his Navy Pea coat and a Halloween mask. He began banging on the sliding glass door. My friends and myself were so terrified, that nobody would sleep near the window anymore. We slept bunched up in a pile for the rest of the night. 
As a teenager I knew that I had to ask my mom permission to do something. If I tried to ask dad, he would always say “ask your Mother”.  After she said yes, I then had to ask my dad to drive me there. His response would always be there same…”if you rub my feet”. I knew this would always be the answer. I would go to great lengths to find another ride, but in the end, it’s all I could do to get to where I needed to go. I would sit on the floor beside his recliner and half to rub those talons down with lotion. To this day, I hate touching feet, or have them touch me. Dad just laughs every time I mention how he scarred me for life. 
My dad was not somebody that would talk your ear off. My mom and I can talk for hours on the phone, mostly about nothing. When I would call dad would yell, “it’s Chris!” Mom would say “how do you know”? Dad would say “I can tell by her ring”. When my kids and I would be at mom and dads, most times he would be watching TV, or playing solitaire on his i-Pad. But mom would always say, he just likes having you here. If we hadn’t come by in a while, she would call and say “Dad is asking why you guys haven’t been by”.
My dad showed his love by acts of service. My dad would do anything  for me and my children. That was one of the many great things about having them live so close to me. When my kids were little and napping, I could call my dad and tell him I needed something from the store and he would run up and deliver it to me. One Thanksgiving, I realized our littlest had lice. In a panic, I threw her in the shower and called my parents. My dad was at my door 15 minutes later with every lice kit that had been at CVS. While my dad was sick, I broke down thinking about this story. The realization that I was about to lose my no questions asked, come to my rescue, dad. It’s not about the errands, it’s about the sense of security it gave me to know that I always had him in my corner, that he would always come to my rescue when I needed him.  He made my feel so secure, so loved, so taken care of. I knew that he would do absolutely anything for me and my family, and there just isn’t a stronger sense of family than that. 
The kids and I hope that these words of love and respect give you a small glimpse of the man, husband, father, grandfather and friend Bill was to all of the people he loved.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


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