William was a dear friend of mine. He and I went to school together from 1st grade all the way through high school. I have many fond memories of William. He and I used to play "paper" basketball in Coach Orrison's room during our study hall period at WJHS. We used to set up an old empty 1 gallon can up on the book shelf and make "basketballs" out of crumpled notebook paper. I remember we got so loud playing one time that the teacher in the class below us (can't rember her name) came up and jacked us both up for making so much noise.
William always had a love for basketball and we would frequently argue over which of "our" teams were the best. He was a huge Lakers fan and I loved Houston and they frequently met in the playoffs.
We both always had some kind of friendly competition going. I'll never forget William passing his drivers license exam before me and I failed the first time. I thought he'd never let me live it down.
I'll never forget the last time I saw William. Shortly after graduation William, Jeff White and I were on the golf course in Gary. We had finished up 9 holes and Jeff and I were having a bad game so we decided to call it quits for the evening. William was playing well and asked us to play another nine. "Comon guys, we don't know when we'll get the chance to play together again", he said. Frustrated with ourselves, Jeff and I declined and left William to finish the last nine without us. Little did I know that day that just a few short months later, William would be gone.
So this is a tribute to William. He was a kind and gentle spirit who always had a smile on his face and a great friend. William, you are missed.
Thank you for sharing that Rusty. He was a gentle spirit; so very sweet. He had a shy laugh and around girls was so cute. I lived in Japan when he died and my mom called me all the way from home to tell me. It broke my heart. Our loss, Heaven's gain. RIP Willy Boy.
William, along with Rusty and Lisa and many others started school with me in Kindergarten/1st grade. He was also so quiet then.
I'll never forget the day when my dad called to tell me that he was gone. I think it was also very significant because he was the first of our class to go - so soon after graduation. He'll always be remembered.
William and I grew up together as well. We lived on the Mountain together and grew up playing kickball and football usually against one another. We would all gather in one of the fields and play. When we played football, William and I were usually on opposite teams and played quarterbacks. William was very competitive, as was I, but I think he is the only one I never argued with. William always seemed fair and simply loved to play ball. But, we did argue about one thing, the Dallas Cowboys!!! I hated the Cowboys and they were William's favorite team. He would deliberately try to get me fired up by calling Joe Montana (my man - the quarterback for the 49ers) a "sissy boy". We could play well together in pretty much any sport, but we couldn't talk pro football. William was a very special person and had an infectious laugh and beautiful smile. I'll never forget the day of the accident that took William's life. I was living in at Concord. Our dorm mother-liason was the daughter of the woman who William's car crashed into. I believe the mother also died in the accident. We had a fire drill and were all outside in our nighties when we heard her scream out. It was the most miserable sound I have ever heard. I stayed back to find out what happened. I later called my parents and they relayed to me that William was also in the accident. A terrible ending for such a beautiful person. William is one of God's angels now. William, I miss you and look forward to seeing you again in Heaven.
I was lucky enough to have gotten to go to Senior prom with William. We had such a great group of friends we got to hang out with that night and had such a good time. Whenever I reminisce and think back about High School, I always think about William. He was such a good person and will forever be missed.
Jimmie Russ
William was a dear friend of mine. He and I went to school together from 1st grade all the way through high school. I have many fond memories of William. He and I used to play "paper" basketball in Coach Orrison's room during our study hall period at WJHS. We used to set up an old empty 1 gallon can up on the book shelf and make "basketballs" out of crumpled notebook paper. I remember we got so loud playing one time that the teacher in the class below us (can't rember her name) came up and jacked us both up for making so much noise.William always had a love for basketball and we would frequently argue over which of "our" teams were the best. He was a huge Lakers fan and I loved Houston and they frequently met in the playoffs.
We both always had some kind of friendly competition going. I'll never forget William passing his drivers license exam before me and I failed the first time. I thought he'd never let me live it down.
I'll never forget the last time I saw William. Shortly after graduation William, Jeff White and I were on the golf course in Gary. We had finished up 9 holes and Jeff and I were having a bad game so we decided to call it quits for the evening. William was playing well and asked us to play another nine. "Comon guys, we don't know when we'll get the chance to play together again", he said. Frustrated with ourselves, Jeff and I declined and left William to finish the last nine without us. Little did I know that day that just a few short months later, William would be gone.
So this is a tribute to William. He was a kind and gentle spirit who always had a smile on his face and a great friend. William, you are missed.
Lisa Runyon (Rotenberry)
Thank you for sharing that Rusty. He was a gentle spirit; so very sweet. He had a shy laugh and around girls was so cute. I lived in Japan when he died and my mom called me all the way from home to tell me. It broke my heart. Our loss, Heaven's gain. RIP Willy Boy.Jennifer Jones (Bayle)
William, along with Rusty and Lisa and many others started school with me in Kindergarten/1st grade. He was also so quiet then.I'll never forget the day when my dad called to tell me that he was gone. I think it was also very significant because he was the first of our class to go - so soon after graduation. He'll always be remembered.
Renee Belcher (Hubinak)
William and I grew up together as well. We lived on the Mountain together and grew up playing kickball and football usually against one another. We would all gather in one of the fields and play. When we played football, William and I were usually on opposite teams and played quarterbacks. William was very competitive, as was I, but I think he is the only one I never argued with. William always seemed fair and simply loved to play ball. But, we did argue about one thing, the Dallas Cowboys!!! I hated the Cowboys and they were William's favorite team. He would deliberately try to get me fired up by calling Joe Montana (my man - the quarterback for the 49ers) a "sissy boy". We could play well together in pretty much any sport, but we couldn't talk pro football. William was a very special person and had an infectious laugh and beautiful smile. I'll never forget the day of the accident that took William's life. I was living in at Concord. Our dorm mother-liason was the daughter of the woman who William's car crashed into. I believe the mother also died in the accident. We had a fire drill and were all outside in our nighties when we heard her scream out. It was the most miserable sound I have ever heard. I stayed back to find out what happened. I later called my parents and they relayed to me that William was also in the accident. A terrible ending for such a beautiful person. William is one of God's angels now. William, I miss you and look forward to seeing you again in Heaven.Angela Wyatt (Finley)
I was lucky enough to have gotten to go to Senior prom with William. We had such a great group of friends we got to hang out with that night and had such a good time. Whenever I reminisce and think back about High School, I always think about William. He was such a good person and will forever be missed.