Sad Day

In Memory of a Very Funny and Great Friend
Bill Howe
March 17, 1976- January 30, 2011

So how do you write something for a friend that was such a bright spot in your life when you needed that bright light? How do you write about someone close to your age who has died way too young? How does it make any sense? Bill Howe was my brother's best friend. This picture shows my brother Bill, my dad Bill, and our friend Bill. The three Bill's. In college where my dad wasn't, my brother and him were known as "the Bill's." All of my friends loved them. I am putting this post together for the girls of 235 who would have known Bill and would appreciate knowing that he passed away last night. The memories have been flooding back. Both he and my brother were so kind to include me in so many things. I thought I would list them here and hopefully some of you remember some of them and hopefully it will bring a smile to your face as he did so many times.

- Buy a friend night - The dollar movie would have .50 cent night and the Bill's would go buy 50 tickets and invite anyone and everyone they knew. The funny part was they called it buy a friend night.

-The paper- Any tabloid paper was known to Bill Howe as "the paper." He always had a copy on hand.

-Chili Mac - For their ward pot lucks, the Bill's would bring Chili Mac and always hide a prize inside. A real prize like a toy. No one knew that their was a prize in it.

- Midgets - He had the strangest obsession with midgets.

- The plunger he gave Lisa and Keith as a wedding gift. Very kind, but alas, odd.

-The pee pants. In respect for him, I will let those who have heard the story remember it.

- Mothership - He was a great alien dancer.

- Buttghetti - The room mate who made spaghetti every Monday and ate it all week. The rest I will leave to those who knew about it.

- Macaroni Grill - When Bill worked there, he got a ton of cash in gift cards. I was lucky enough to be invited to splurge all the gift cards at once. We would order what ever we wanted and eat one or two bites and then order something else. It was very fun and very gracious of him as he always was.

- Thanksgiving at Grandma Barbs - Our family always had a ton of gravy. They made a bunch and instead of serving it in a gravy boat, they put it in a crystal water pitcher so you could pour as much on as you wanted. Bill looked at it and said, "What's wrong with the milk?" Later he found out that Grandma had decided to do ice cream Sunday's for dessert and then he disappeared. He went down to Marie Calendars and bought 5 pies.

- Cross Country road trip - The drive was full of "the paper" but my favorite was at Niagra Falls. We went on the Maid of the Mist and had rain ponchos. We were looking around for Bill and he was standing in front of the rotating sprinkler getting sprayed on his poncho.

- Generosity - This is the main thing I remember about him. He was always paying for what anyone wanted and always bought way more than needed or expected. Once my whole family went to a movie. No one had any treats and he came in for large drinks for everyone. That was just how he was.

- Waterskiing - we took him waterskiing at Yuba lake and it was early in the morning. We all took turns and then it was his. He jumped in and proceeded to scream as loud as he possibly could because the water was colder than he thought. You would think that he would stop after a few seconds, but no, Bill continued for minutes. After trying to ski and falling, he suggested in a scream again that there was a tuna up his nose.

- U2 - I got to see U2 in Salt Lake City with the Bills (tickets purchased by my brother) and Kelsie, their other room mate who was addicted to U2 even more than me. Of course the Bill's bought Kelsie a shirt and sat their so excited watching him enjoy his first concert with the band from Dublin.

-Taco Bell, CBE concerts, movie nights, fish outlines on the carpet, puns, and really just supporting everyone else. He was the best friend to have. I am so sad that his life has ended. It makes me reflect on my own and how short life really is. I love you Bill. And to my brother, thanks for sharing this great friend with me who as you can see, made college SO MUCH FUN!