(I was still teetering on crutches when Bill made his remarks at Raven and Big Mama’s funeral. His remarks were inspirational.)
I got the word when I arrived at the office. My cousin Bill- we knew him as Billie when we were growing up- had passed peacefully the morning before.
We had a sense that this was coming, but he must have wanted to stay for the holidays. He had settled out in the Denver area after getting out of his beloved Air Force and made his life with Kathy there on the Front Range under the wide sky and against the looming majesty of the mountains.
Raven was the little brother of his Dad, the legendary aviation pioneer. Raven was 17 years younger, and with our Grandfather often gone on Western Electric business, really was more father to Raven than J.B. was.
The closeness of that relationship carried over, and Bill and his siblings were much older than we were, and they carried a certain mythic status in our lives. His brother James Burr was killed on active duty while tanking his B-47 bomber on the way home from Spain.
We were all proud of him- youngest aircraft commander in SAC, trim, eyes crinkled with laugh-lines. I remember that funeral well, and it is strange to look down on his stone, as we did this summer, the gray surface softened with lichen under the brilliant sky.
Cousin Bill honored his memory by joining the Air Force as well, though he did not fly. His interests lay elsewhere, though of course airplanes and photography were interests that stayed with him all his life.
He had a long battle with esophageal cancer. Radical surgery and chemo seemed to have vanquished the scourge. He spoke with one of those amplifiers that he held up against where his vocal cords had been. The sound was a little strange and filled with vibrato, but his wit and good humor came through.
Bill was one of the featured speakers at Big Mama and Raven’s interment up in Pennsylvania, and he funny as hell, talking about the pranks he and Raven shared down through the years. They shared the same name, of course, and took delight in calling each other’s answering services, announcing that it was “themselves” calling and laughing uproariously.
That was the last time I saw him alive. He was thin as a rail but upbeat and determined to beat the cancer. Throughout the course of the ravaging disease, he maintained a sense of dignity and grace. He was one of my heroes.
He lost the fight on Wednesday. I am going to miss him a lot. The memorial is tomorrow in Denver. I am not sure I can get there in time. I will definitely be there for the funeral.
He leaves behind his lovely bride Kathy and three vivacious daughters.
Cousin Jan, former mayor of Galveston, is the senior member of the family, replacing Raven and Big Mama as the Doyen. She and her younger brother Alan remain behind to anchor the clan.
I am going to miss Bill. He was a grand guy.
Rest in peace, Bill.
Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com