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Bill met his wife Pearl, an accomplished
athlete in tennis, golf, and bowling, at the
local Y. After marrying, they moved in with
her parents, but soon bought a house that
was walking distance to their parents. Both
of Bill’s parents died at an early age from
heart failure with his father missing out on
the birth of his grandsons. Bill had hopes
for his children to follow his life plan: go
to the same high school and college, run
track and cross country, and to be engineers
like him. To start this plan, he helped
them practice their math facts and
encouraged them to be good students in
math. He taught them the math tricks that
his father taught him decades earlier. In
retrospect, his sons were grateful for the
direction he set for them. When his oldest
son initially had trouble with geometry, he
and his wife helped organize his studying
approach and rebuilt his confidence.
Coincidently, both sons went to the same
high school, college, were runners and had
successful careers. “Like father like
sons”!!
Bill directed his engineering skill
to model airplane building, model
railroading, and building miniature doll
houses and furniture. His wife built the
scenery for the model railroading and art
work and provided other house furnishings
for the miniatures. Bill became well known
in the model railroading and doll house
communities because of the articles he wrote
for modeler magazines. In step by step
details, he described how to build the
dozens of railroad cars and furniture that
he designed and built.
Bill stopped running at the age
70 and took up the more sedentary sport of
golf with his wife Pearl. Bill seems to
know everyone in Baltimore. He knew all of
his father’s relatives down to third cousins
once removed. This knowledge encouraged his
older son to learn genealogy and write a
computer program to help build the family
tree. Shortly after their 61st wedding
anniversary, Pearl passed away at the age of
86.
At the age 89, his sons bought
Bill his first computer, and let him teach
himself how to use it. Bill found a new
direction in life. He volunteered at the
local library and taught seniors how to use
the computer and navigate the internet. He
was well recognized by the Baltimore County
Public Library for his years of dedicated
service.
After Pearl had passed away,
her sister Bernice and Bill set up a hot
line so that they could check on each
other’s health every morning. Shortly after
his sister-in-law passed away, Bill decided
to move into an assisted living facility.
At the age 95, he decided to stop driving -
to the relief the family. Bill became a de
facto entertainment director and was used in
the advertisements for his place of
residence. Whenever possible, the
Pikesville staff of the assisted living
facility has prospective residents and their
children talk to Bill while looking over the
premises. He is their best salesman.
Bill’s exposure to cultural
pressures, the great depression, and the
joys and pleasures found in day-to-day life
helped him prepare his sons to face the
re-occurrences in today’s world. A little
over a year ago, Bill met a special friend
Jeanne who has given a new spirit and
meaning to his life. Bill and Jeanne were
featured in the Baltimore Sun in February
2008 as a special couple for the Valentine’s
Day issue. Bill still enjoys mathematical
games and tricks which he tries on his
friends and doctors. Bill continued
interest in learning new things, his sense
of humor, and his zest for life, although at
a slower pace today, has influenced his two
children, five grandchildren, and three
great grandchildren. |
