Kmassaro
12-20-2010, 05:19 PM
Several of us went to the service, including Patrick, Sawtooth, Jon S, Flamingo 7 and his wife Diane, Kevin Morlang, Eric, Huntsman22, Scoutin' Wyoming and me.
Bill's wife, Sherry, talked about how much he loved participating on the MB, and dealing with the Kifaru folks. So much that we were moved to the family section at the front, and Patrick spoke about Bill to the gathering.
Bill was an amazing guy. In his thirties, he married a woman with four children, and raised them as his own. To the "kids", now adults, and the grandkids, he was "papa". He was an extremely devoted father, and grandfather, who worked side by side with his wife at Zebra Publishing, and who employed several of his kids.
His honeymoon was an elk hunting trip, much of it recorded, at least the hunting part, on video. In Sherry's words "there wasn't much honeymooning" as the guide was pounding on the cabin door at 4 am for their wake up calls.
There was a collection of photos and memorabilia from a life well spent. The full sized mounts of the brown bear we read about on the MB, a massive bull elk he killed on the honeymoon trip, stories of his hunting squirrels from the house, or oopsing arrows through a window recently.
This was a man who lived a full and rich life. Who was a great bowhunter, became a great rifle hunter, and was starting to work at mastering upland hunting as well. Oh, the stories we could have had.
This was also a man who sent love poems to his lovely, and classy wife, Sherry. Who let his grandaughter paint his toenails. Who lived his life with enthusiasm. Who had a slush fund for buying rifles in a box. Who lived in a "hunter's house with a game display as soon as you entered, tastefully done with many splendid heads.
And who bettered the lives of many here and elsewhere, including four kids and a sweet lady.
He will be missed.
Bill's wife, Sherry, talked about how much he loved participating on the MB, and dealing with the Kifaru folks. So much that we were moved to the family section at the front, and Patrick spoke about Bill to the gathering.
Bill was an amazing guy. In his thirties, he married a woman with four children, and raised them as his own. To the "kids", now adults, and the grandkids, he was "papa". He was an extremely devoted father, and grandfather, who worked side by side with his wife at Zebra Publishing, and who employed several of his kids.
His honeymoon was an elk hunting trip, much of it recorded, at least the hunting part, on video. In Sherry's words "there wasn't much honeymooning" as the guide was pounding on the cabin door at 4 am for their wake up calls.
There was a collection of photos and memorabilia from a life well spent. The full sized mounts of the brown bear we read about on the MB, a massive bull elk he killed on the honeymoon trip, stories of his hunting squirrels from the house, or oopsing arrows through a window recently.
This was a man who lived a full and rich life. Who was a great bowhunter, became a great rifle hunter, and was starting to work at mastering upland hunting as well. Oh, the stories we could have had.
This was also a man who sent love poems to his lovely, and classy wife, Sherry. Who let his grandaughter paint his toenails. Who lived his life with enthusiasm. Who had a slush fund for buying rifles in a box. Who lived in a "hunter's house with a game display as soon as you entered, tastefully done with many splendid heads.
And who bettered the lives of many here and elsewhere, including four kids and a sweet lady.
He will be missed.