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The Rev. Fr. Vince Varnas posted a condolence
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Sorry this is late. I just read about Bill's passing this morning. Something brought Bill to mind and I did a Google search to find out what happened to him since 1956.
Bill and I were boyhood pals (1950-56) at Skyway Park, Fairborn (W-PAFB). We both left there in 1956, because the Air Force demolished the place then (guess they wanted to make sure we could never return!) He was my best friend. He and his parents and siblings lived across the street from me (23 Valley Lane). He gave me my first cat (no name - a stray), as he had no room for it. He already had a cat (Mary).
We used to ride our bicycles together. I had training wheels on mine (a Schwinn) for too long. So, his Dad (Oscar) saw that the training wheels were not touching the ground anymore and advised me I could take them off. I did and it allowed me to really speed along!
We both had model trains. I had Lionel and he had American Flyer (but I didn't hold that against him!).
One summer, we were both in the Boy Scouts and went to Summer camp along with another boy friend, Danny Huffman. I couldn't swim, but Bill could. So as not to be embarrassed, I jumped in the pool to qualify, along with Bill and low and behold, I found I could swim well enough to get to the other side and qualify. Thanks, Bill. You "taught" me how to swim and didn't even know it!
I also remember well how we played baseball together, just the two of us (although sometimes we allowed Mike to join in), one pitched and the other hit. No one to catch the fly balls, though.
Bill and I seem to have parallel lives. We both love cats. We both like trains. We both were in the Air Force (although at different times). We both worked for the Federal Government as civilian employees (I worked for the VA as a Labor Relations Manager). And, we both moved to the Pacific Northwest, he to Idaho and I to Oregon, where I still live. I left the Roman Catholic Church six years ago and became a priest in the Anglican Church.
Now for my sermon: I learned in the seminary that God is relationship and we are in His image and likeness in this regard and others. I think that our personalities and characters were very much alike. Perhaps that is why our lives paralleled each others in many ways. I think Bill helped to shape my life (thanks, Bill) and perhaps I helped to shape his in some small way. A priest in my seminary once said: "I cannot be me without you and you cannot be you without me". I think I better understand that now that I have read and appreciated Bill's obituary in the newspaper. I think those six years we enjoyed together as kids represent a symbiotic relationship that was in God's image.
Rest well, my friend.
Father Vince, Priest-in-Charge, Holy Angels Anglican Church
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The family of William Douglas DeCloedt uploaded a photo
Friday, March 16, 2018
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The family of William Douglas DeCloedt uploaded a photo
Friday, March 16, 2018
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