Mike Hennessey

Dateline Dayton — Here is the eulogy I gave yesterday for my brother-in-law Willie.

William, yes. To a few, he was William. Others called him Bill. To most of us, he was Willie. He was husband, brother, father, grandpa, uncle, nephew, co-worker, brother-in-law, and a friend to all.

I can’t remember when I first met Willie. He and Susie were married for over 28 years, and I’m sure he was at the family Christmas gatherings. I do know Mom always referred to him as being old. She kind of looked after him when we were working around her home. Come on – he was only four months older than me.

To me, he was much more than just my brother-in-law. He was my friend, my traveling companion on at least two trips to Florida. Willie was easy to travel with. That was good. Sometimes it meant sleeping in a chair. That was not comfortable.

Back in 2009 we started our yearly trips to Las Vegas. This was the first year Willie missed. We had a lot of good times in Vegas, especially when he won. I seldom did. He could walk past a slot machine and say “That machine is talking to me.” Sure enough, many times he played and won.

We only had two problems in Vegas.

One was, I liked to walk and Willie didn’t. I would wear him out.

The second problem, he would be at a machine and I would wander away. Eventually, we were able to locate each other. Eventually.

I have been accused of corrupting him, requiring him to go to Hooters in Vegas and our Florida trips.

Along with Susie and Willie, Pauline and I make many what we referred to as road trips. This meant we were headed to a casino or possibly two. Some trips didn’t work out well, especially when we couldn’t find a room and spent hours driving home early in the morning.

There were the bus trips we make together and then our big trip to the Grand Canyon, which was cut short by Pauline’s illness, followed by my being sick. Then it was Susie’s turn. Willie waited until we got back home.

If you needed something, Willie either had it or knew where to get it. Over the years we have met at auctions, did a move, had an auction, roofed a house, moved something, had an auction, moved, and the list could go on.

Willie, I am really going to miss you. Until we meet again in that big casino in the sky, keep an eye on us!

Thanks for all the great memories, friend!

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net