Posted on behalf of Tadashi Ogawa:

Please convey my condolences to his family and everyone.  Billy's attitude towards life and nature had enriched our film greatly.

Posted on behalf of Barbara Johns:

Billy and I met on a Valor Tours trip aboard the Puk-uk in 2017, when, by a stroke of luck, I got the last berth on the boat. It was my own journey tracing the story of my father, a P-38 pilot who was killed in action over Kiska in 1942. Billy took interest in my father’s story and on poetry night, asked to read from my father's letters from the front, which I’d brought with me. I treasure hearing the letters in his voice. By another stroke of luck, three of the nine passengers were a Japanese documentary film crew—Tadashi Ogawa, the director, videographer Taiki Ikemura, and still photographer Masami Sugiyama. Billy is, to me, the star of the film. His thoughtful, generous spirit shines through.

Soon afterward, Billy called me from Seattle, my hometown, where he’d come for one his periodic visits to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Our friendship deepened during those visits. He came to our home, sometimes with Colette or Gail. We walked on the beach and talked. And always we shared pictures of grandchildren! He was so deeply loving and proud of Colette and Serena. He is forever in my heart.