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Diane Davie posted a condolence
Bill and I met several years ago at the Trackside Diner. I so enjoyed him, with his spirited sense of humor, the twinkle in his eye, his love of the Yankees and Cowboys and his "old timers" bigoted ways. He would ocassionally give me a fist bump and call me "Homie".
Bill reminded me of my own Dad who passed away 6 years ago; they were just a year apart in age which is perhaps the reason why I felt a fatherly bond with him.
May he be at peace and his family have great memories to hold close.
Diane Davie
Unadilla, NY
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Renee Hunt posted a condolence
Thoughts and prayers to the immediate family! RIP Great Uncle Bill...
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Greg Davie posted a condolence
They always said about Bill that NO one could handle the heavy machinery like he could. So many people have said it, so I believe it. Bill was a quiet presence, at least in his morning coffee soirees in town. His words were few but their effect was felt. RIP Bill. A job well done.
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mary harageones posted a condolence
We will miss Bill at Trackside every morning. He was always good a giving us a early morning giggle.
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Blair C Puffer posted a condolence
So sorry to hear of Bill's passing. Always enjoyed watching him operate his dozer, he was a master.
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Lorraine Puzanskas posted a condolence
My memory of Bill was him mowing the grass around his pond by my house on Vandervort Hill. He graciously let my dogs and myself swim in the pond that he built. He fixed our driveway, bulldozed the remains of our old barn, and prepared the ground for our new structure. I have photos of him doing so. He would drive by almost daily and tried real hard to rid his pond of geese. He would always stop for some small talk and quirky remarks that brought laughter to us both. He will be missed.
Ed & Lorraine
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tom hunt posted a condolence
Randy Sorry to here this sad news about your dad . I would say that we have lost the best bulldozer and equipment operator that this area ever had. I could sit and watch him for hours on the D9 . It will be different not seeing him come down off the hill about every night after checking on his pond . R.I.P. Uncle Bill , you will be missed . Tom and Gwen
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Sandy & Scott Howes posted a condolence
Uncle Bill - sorry to see you go. Randy,Phyllis and Mike - sorry for your loss Bill will be missed by all. Scott
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Emily Smith Droddy posted a condolence
Phyllis, if you are reading this, I don't know if you remember me. I am Barbara and Francis Smith oldest daughter and lived on Baker Street. When the old school was torn down and you had your house built in its place, I baby sat with your boys a few times. I also have a Michael and he has a 18 year old son Bret. My oldest son is David and his son is A.J. who is 20. I live in a small town two hours NE of Houston. I was so sorry to hear about Bill's death. Please accept my condolences.
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Ron & Stephanie Ingham posted a condolence
Memories of Bill will always be with us.His smile and great humor were always a wecome part of anyones day. Peaceful blessings to all.
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Bridget Kiff posted a condolence
Bruce, Craig, and family: I am sorry for your loss. I pray that comfort and peace will be with you at this time. Bridget Kiff and family
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Jim &Nancy Ives posted a condolence
He will be sadly missed as a good source of wisdom,comedy
and most of all common sense.
It was truly my privlage to have Bill as a friend and I will always treasure his friendship. Jim Ives
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Rich and Jan Laytham posted a condolence
As has already been said, Bill was a master with the bulldozer. He wrestled our driveway into submission on several occasions. He was a good man and a good friend. We are so sorry for your loss; Bill will truely be missed.
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Steve Cole posted a condolence
I met Bill many years ago as a little boy and grew up admiring the man. He taught me much of what I know today in relations to being a heavy equipment operator & diesel technician. I will never forget the times we shared, the laughter, the jokes...everything. He was more than a mentor to me, he was a good friend. My condolences go out to his family. Gone, but not forgotten. RIP Bill.
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Chris posted a condolence
Bill, or Grandpa as I know him, was one of the strongest and most level headed people I’ve ever met. I will forever cherish my memories of him and his addictive personality. I don’t know that he’d ever met anyone who didn’t absolutely love him once past the shock of any bigoted, harmless & humorous comments. And if they didn’t like him, well they can go…….. Whether it was me getting Bruce’s old Tempo hung up on a tree behind Randy’s house, him and my sister lying about getting ice cream without me, just to get me riled up, or even my botched ‘loader test’ at the age of 14, I will love him and remember him forever. Even my friends, who had never met the man, could tell you stories of me bragging about him repeatedly. I know I don’t live in Sidney Center or anywhere remotely close, but even still he alone makes me proud to wear the Howes name. The CAT hat wearing, hard-headed, stubborn man will forever be one of my greatest influences in life. If you’re going to do something, do it right—and he did. I can’t even fathom the number of lives he’s had an impact on, but I promise you anyone who’s met him, remembers him. Hands down, he was the greatest man I’ve ever known and needless to say, he will be missed. I hope I get the privilege of seeing him again sometime. I love you Grandpa.
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Dawn Pinney posted a condolence
My thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Bill was a wonderful man and Deb & I were very fortunate to have him as our God Father! RIP Bill...
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Jenny Eggleston posted a condolence
Dear Grampa,
Thank you for all of the memories you’ve left me with. I’ve been doing a lot of remembering over the past few days, and it’s funny, there really isn’t a timeline that they run through my mind in – all of them are consistently good memories though, and I treasure every one. I remember going to the gravel bank for the day, hanging out in the scale house, with the girly calendars that you’d obviously covered up just because you knew I was coming to visit, and leaving to go get ice cream cones in the middle of the work day. Camping out on the living room floor and you teasing Chris & me for being lazy and “sleeping in� till 6:00 am on a Saturday. Riding and playing in various pieces of heavy equipment or trucks that you’d gotten and fixed up – every time there was something new to play with. Watching you with Abby when you met her for the first time, playing with her little toes and fingers and ears, whispering sweet little baby talk to her. Picking wild strawberries in your yard. Roller skating in the basement. Arguing the merits of Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge trucks (at least you & I agree that Dodge is inferior). Fishing for the first time, catching my first fish. We kept it in a bucket there on the bank for a few hours before dumping it back in the pond. I was so proud of catching that tiny fish. Talking about jobs we’d worked on, funny work stories, or just funny stories in general. “I’ll make your face look like a stewed tomato.� “Whatever blows your dress up, sweetheart.� In response to, ‘how are you?’: “Best in town!� “if I want any shit out of you, I’ll squeeze your head.� Watching Chris try to teach you how to use a computer. For someone who could run and/or fix anything with a motor, you are definitely not a natural-born computer whiz. � I loved watching you cuddle with Abby, especially last summer when she was so tired up at the camp but to wound up to take a nap and you sat there beside her and stroked her cheek until she fell asleep. That was the sweetest thing ever, I will always cherish that. Who has more ice cream sandwiches in the freezer? – I still have 2 million by the way. Garlic bread at the Cortese. I am so sure that it’s the best in the world, I won’t ever try to look for anything that comes close to matching it. Being little and cuddling with you on the couch in your den and watching baseball in the evening after supper. The fact that you called lunch “dinner� and dinner “supper,� and that I would get confused as to which meal you were talking about if I didn’t pay close attention. Dusting your house – for the record, you got special treatment – I don’t even dust my own house now! :) Oh, and the battle of wills we all watched a few weeks ago between you and Abby over the fruit snack. I haven’t told her that you let her win that one yet, but I know you did. And I know it was worth losing the battle to see that sparkling determination in her eyes. It’s the same look I’ve seen in your eyes, Dad’s eyes, Chris’s, and my own. Dad learned from you, and we learned from Dad. You imparted some of your best qualities upon my family, including being hard-headed. We share a sense of pride in a day’s hard work, a love of people and the art of bullshitting, appreciation of a good joke (especially if it’s a little off-color – which reminds me, Pollok jokes are another good memory!), an undying passion for big machines on tracks or big tires, and, even though we might not recognize it for its true worth at the time, cherishing a lazy afternoon with family. Watching the sun set behind the mountains from the porch up at the camp. The plastic ice cream container filled with pennies and you & Chris & I guessing how many were in there – I was around 12 at the time. I won and you joked that I had cheated and was stealing from an old man. I think you let me win that one by the way – I still remember thinking that your guess was way too low.
Thank you for being you. I can’t come up with an adjective that describes “you� accurately, so I will just leave it at that. You. Bill, Dad, Grampa, Great Grampa, friend. All of the above. You are honest, funny, smart, loving, proud but modest, and strong-willed – all qualities that I love and wish more people in this world possessed. You have always been my own personal symbol of what a real man is – and you always will be. You worked your ass off, but also did what you loved and knew how to relax. You always told people what you thought, even if you knew they didn’t want to hear it. And you knew how to laugh and make other people laugh, even if it was because you were teasing them. And despite valiant efforts to appear gruff and tough, you loved your family and cared deeply for them. Thank God that Abby & I were in this family, or I may never have seen that soft spot in you – it definitely came out around little girls more than guys.
Even though you aren’t physically here anymore, your effect on the person I am today will be with me forever. I am who I am because you raised one hell of a man and he had a daughter and a son (and by the way, I plan on doing the same with my daughter). So again, thank you. I am so proud to be your granddaughter, proud of your family, and proud to be part of it. I love you, Grampa.
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milo mcginnis posted a condolence
Was real nice to know a fine gentelman who was always fun to be around. rip.
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Gail Goulette Delaney posted a condolence
I am so sorry for Bill's passing..I just found out today..I met Bill in 2007 when I started taking care of my dad, Clifford Goulette..Bill was such a funny and wonderful man and a friend to my dad like no other. After my dad passed in 2009, I did not see Bill again..My condolences to y'all .
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