I always liked Willie. He pushed the structure of school in interesting ways with a lot of energy, and I always enjoyed seeing the teachers reckon with him from the first day of kindergarten. I admired his hoodlum sytle and maintained a fondness and curiosity that I still carry. If anyone knew him well, I would love to hear more about him. Love, Jonathan Frechette
Willie was a good kid at heart. We were pretty good friends as small kids and when he started to drift into trouble, he picked me to go with him one day on a plane ride (I think it was a Cessna) over the Hartford area with a man who worked with troubled kids, by the name of Ray Bertie. We stayed friendly throughout our school years, even when many kept their distance from him. I was saddened to learn of Willie's passing, especially in the manner in which he left us, far too young and by his own doing. RIP, my friend.
My last memory of Willie was when I worked at Allstate a few years after graduating high school. I was working with his sister and his Mother worked in another department there. He came to the office. I saw him in a stairwell, he recognized me and we spoke for a few minutes. He was meeting his Mom and sister for lunch. He was dressed in a suit and tie, not like the Willie I knew in high school. My memory is of a young man meeting his Mom and sister for lunch walking to the cafeteria smiling at both of them.
I gained a new side to Willie that day. When I hear his name I think of that meeting with him and my last look of him walking he Mom and sister down the coridor, smiling.
Jonathan Frechette
I always liked Willie. He pushed the structure of school in interesting ways with a lot of energy, and I always enjoyed seeing the teachers reckon with him from the first day of kindergarten. I admired his hoodlum sytle and maintained a fondness and curiosity that I still carry. If anyone knew him well, I would love to hear more about him. Love, Jonathan FrechetteSteve Cox
Willie was a good kid at heart. We were pretty good friends as small kids and when he started to drift into trouble, he picked me to go with him one day on a plane ride (I think it was a Cessna) over the Hartford area with a man who worked with troubled kids, by the name of Ray Bertie. We stayed friendly throughout our school years, even when many kept their distance from him. I was saddened to learn of Willie's passing, especially in the manner in which he left us, far too young and by his own doing. RIP, my friend.Mary-Ann Parylak (Abramczyk)
My last memory of Willie was when I worked at Allstate a few years after graduating high school. I was working with his sister and his Mother worked in another department there. He came to the office. I saw him in a stairwell, he recognized me and we spoke for a few minutes. He was meeting his Mom and sister for lunch. He was dressed in a suit and tie, not like the Willie I knew in high school. My memory is of a young man meeting his Mom and sister for lunch walking to the cafeteria smiling at both of them.I gained a new side to Willie that day. When I hear his name I think of that meeting with him and my last look of him walking he Mom and sister down the coridor, smiling.
Mary-Ann