At Interlake, Bill earned the nickname, “Bill the Cat” (or just “Cat” eventually) from the popular cartoon strip Bloom County, due to often showing up at school injured or on crutches from his early efforts to become a professional hockey player. Which had some brief success, when he played for The Breakers. At least until someone threw a penny on the ice, which he hit at speed and turned his knee the wrong way around. That ended that career. He always loved the sport, though, and even coached peewee hockey for a while.
Bill’s love of music was a natural progression of being a Bellevue kid where so many other musical talents grew up. His regular babysitter was best friends with Ann and Nancy Wilson (of Heart) and many guitar sessions took place in the early days in his living room. His desire to become a drummer confused his Mom, who originally gifted him with a trombone. When he eventually got a guitar his talent really showed, and almost took him down another road, as he received several offers to play professionally. But, never comfortable playing in front of an audience, he eventually went to work for the family business instead.
Bill’s love of the outdoors (skiing, surfing, golfing, rock climbing, etc) served him well in the family’s business of recovering and restoring crashed aircraft, as much of this work was done in the Alaskan back country. His integrity was to always give 110% to everything he did, or he wouldn’t bill you for it. We would watch if an aircraft went down, as he would always hurry to check if it was one he had worked on. He held several special licenses/certifications, and if his name was on the paperwork he made sure there were no questions or errors in anything. He always said he loved airplanes but not aviation, because of the paperwork!
Bill passed from multiple organ failure on August 18, 2021, due to a sudden resurgence of a septic infection from a previous surgery. He was 54 years old. He is greatly missed by all who knew him, being such a charming personality who liked everyone, and the feeling was mutual. He and his wife were a popular couple around town and at many local concerts and events.
Sadly, Bill’s sister Alena is also on this page. She died of cancer in 2011, and is listed under the Class of 1982.
His obituary can be found here.
