1. God
2. Remembering my father-in-law on the anniversary of his death
3. How he welcomed me, enabled me to relax
4. “I’m not a bartender, you’re on your own after the first drink”
5. How delighted he was to meet my dad, sharing the same first name, my dad grew up in Watertown, NY and Bill was from Utica, NY, much to talk about, also opera and the symphony orchestra
6. Talking to him about his days as press secretary for Rockefeller, Albany in the day, his remarks on William Kennedy as an insistent reporter
7. How he reinvented himself (this was before I came on the scene.) The story Cassie told, that his youngest daughter said to him, “Well, Bill, you can help people or you can sell beer.” So his last twenty working years were for the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and he helped an uncountable number of people and traveled widely.
8. Pulling me aside the night before the wedding, “Garrett, this may be the only chance we have to talk.” And then he went on to characterize Cassie as “flamboyant,” “extremely intelligent,” and he said “she hasn’t got a mean bone in her body.” Unfortunately, we were interrupted and did not get another chance to talk in the same way again.
9. How he drove us around, the National Cathedral was a moving visit, and also Gettysburg.
10. Talking with him about ghost stories and Things That Go Bump In the Night
11. How he took care of Catharine before he passed
12. Another of my favorite stories via Cassie, he was a traveling salesman, selling Vick’s in his youth. Took a road trip to New Orleans with another salesman and went AWOL several days. When Cassie asked him what he did during that time, “Cassandra, what the hell do you think we did? We were twenty-five.” Once the brass figured it out he was dismissed and never bought Vick’s again.
13. going to the baseball hall of fame, he wore his Yankees cap, I wore my Red Sox cap, people got a kick out of that. Inside the museum he said, “Well, you’ll probably want to go look at all that boring Ted Williams stuff” and headed elsewhere.
14. Telling us where to find Woodbridge Wine at the store “It’s very hard to find.” So henceforth Cassie and I would refer to the “exceedingly rare Woodbridge wine” (Or, “it’s hard to find, it’s Woodbridge wine, so nevermind”)
15. And he loved those mojitos
16. He and my brother-in-law Steve had a special relationship “Bill, don’t you get tired of watching [the Yankees] win all the time?”
17. When I first met Cassie she referred to her father as a “mensch,” and she was right, and he was also human.
18. He was a greeter in the church and maybe he is now a greeter in heaven
19. Cassie’s love for him , exemplary
Garrett, what a magnificently wonderful tribute to your father-in-law! Thank you for allowing us to walk along with you as you share the stories. You’re the Best! Blessings, Jean
Thank you so much for sharing your father-in-law with us. What an interesting man, and you really made his personality come alive — and he is alive in all of your family’s love, stories, and memories. I bet it meant a lot to Cassie to read your list. I adored my father-in-law, and though he’s been gone for over 30 years, I still think of him often and his legacy lives on in our family. Jean’s right — you are the best! Affectionately, Carol
I am smiling as i read your list Garrett and appreciate so much that you took the time to craft this vibrant portrait of a man who LIVED and embraced life! Would have been great to shake your father-in-law’s hand!
helen