Billy was my best friend shortly after I met him at Yorktown.  He was gruff and unpolished but had a heart of gold.  I suspect his gruffness was because he had a stern father and his mom died when he was young.  Billy had lots of health issues so I did not think he would live a full lifespan.  His younger brother did too and died before Billy.  I hope his children did not inherit any of those things that caused his life to be not as long as it might have.  I also hope they had the loving heart that he had evident when you got to know him.  He was the most genuine guy I knew at Yorktown.  I am sorry life took me out of his sphere but I did get to visit with him a couple of times over the years. I could never get him to write me.  I think he was self consious about his grammar and spelling.  We have no reason in this modern tech world to do that now.