Eulogy Given by Bill's Friend Andy Sand on 7 February, 2004:

I’d like to first say Thank You to Tom, Ann and Roger, Nancy and Dan, Mr. Birchler and Molly for providing me the opportunity to say a few words. Since I first met Billy as a freshman at Ohio State I’ve had the opportunity to spend a lot of quality time with each of you.  And whether it was an Ohio State football game, a trip to Key West, a visit to Cleveland, a rendezvous in Las Vegas, or numerous visits to DC and the lake house, you have all treated me, Mindy, and our girls as part of the Birchler family.  For this I am truly grateful.  Thank you, and I love each and every one of you.

How does one describe Billy?  Fortunately, he had a lot of nicknames that help to describe him.  Perhaps his most notable nickname was "The Toe."  He even had Presidential Inaugural license plates that said "The Toe."  And while "The Toe" describes many of Billy’s real and/or questionable accomplishments on the football field as a young man, it doesn’t describe Billy as a whole.  A second nickname of Billy’s does a better job of describing Billy: "The Big Chief."  Amongst his close friends Billy was truly a big chief.  He was our de facto leader, and in some ways a father figure to each of us.  But perhaps another nickname of Billy’s does the best job of describing him, "Mr. Wonderful."  Billy was wonderful at making you laugh.  He was wonderful at making you smile.  Billy was a wonderful whistler.  He had a wonderful wit.  He was wonderful at trivia and he was wonderful at history.  He was a wonderful person to talk to on the phone for 2 or 3 hours at a time. Billy was a wonderful friend.  And Billy was a wonderful person. And what made Billy so wonderful?  Billy was wonderful because he was always himself--nothing more, nothing less.  Billy was always Billy.

Freshman year in college Billy was simply being Billy when he flagged me down in the lobby of Paterson Hall.  "Hey Andy," he said.  "You’ve got to come over hear and listen to this song."  Billy was taking piano lessons that quarter.  So, I went over and watched as Billy sat down at the piano, and with the concentration of a master pianist performing at Carnegie Hall, he performed his number.  When he finished, he leaned back, and in a very proud Billy-esque way he said, "Wasn’t that great!" Billy had just played "Twinkle, Twinkle Star."  Billy was just being Billy.

Now, I have to admit, sometimes it made me angry when Billy was just being Billy.  One of these occasions was a few years ago, and I’d like to take the time to apologize now to Billy for being upset.  Billy, I’m sorry I got a little jealous and somewhat angry when you bought Mindy a nicer birthday present than I did!

Billy was also just being Billy two weeks ago when Iggy, Lila, Ross and I had the opportunity to visit him in the hospital.  And although very ill, he kept his sense of humor, he kept his pride, and he kept his dignity.  And when we left his room for the last time, Billy was just being Billy when he said "I love you guys."

We love you too Billy.