It was my pleasure to have known Bill. He and Addie were my first neighbors when I came to Canada. Always a friendly word and smile. Bill educated me on certain English terms which might be misconstrued in Canada! He also told me I was not truly Canadian if I didnt eat peanut butter. RIP Bill
Consider that I only met uncle Bill maybe a dozen times in my life, it is surprising to see the effect in me.
People often ask "who do you take after more -your mom or your dad?" I always answer "Uncle Bill!!" His storytelling, his sense of humour, his stage-presence... all in my life, all quite different from mom or dad. I do not have the "salesmanship" he had but aptitude tests always show I have 9/10 of what it takes & uncle Bill just had the "closer" gene that is sadly lacking in me.
I busted a gut laughing when Bill got dad to watch not one, but two TiCats games. (Dad was never a football fan.) Bill told him that Hank was now playing for Hamilton.
"Hank Motton!" Then he spun some yarn about uncle Harold having had an illegitimate child in the '50s & Hank the runningback was the grandchild from this scandal.
Dad watched Hamilton vs Toronto after he heard this, never saw Hank. It was during the announcers' banter in the last two minutes that they said "Hank Motton was a healthy scratch today after his injury because they are really gonna need him next week to beat Montreal..." Dad figured he had watched most of the game, he might as well watch the last two minutes...
Next week, dad watched the game. Hank only hit the field in the 3rd quarter. The CTV camera had a real great closeup of Hank coming down the tunnel from the dressing room - a very striking, athletic, maybe 28-yr-old African American man who, quite obviously, had NO relation to our branch of the Motton gene pool...
8 seconds after that closeup, uncle Bill answered his phone (without the benefit of caller-id) "Hello, Fred!"
Our sincere heartfelt condolences to Aunt Adeline and family on the passing of Uncle Bill.I will always remember his smile and cheerfulness .He will be truly missed.
Love Heather and Robert Brackenridge
We belatedly, due to travel, learned of the passing of a good friend. We met Bill and Addie years ago and shared many good times while visiting Mexico. It was a blessing to know Bill and we will miss him. To Addie and family, our deepest sympathies. We wish we could be with you. Know that Bill will make his new home a better place by being there at peace.
Aunt Adeline & family,
Our deepest sympathies to you and your family. May you find comfort in the memories you shared.