William (“Bill”) Friend was born in Columbus, Ohio on June 19, 1946. He grew up in the leafy green suburb of Bexley. According to his parents, Wendell and Evelyn, he was a precocious child with endless curiosity, lots of energy, and a knack for driving them crazy. He spent a lot of time at summer camp.

Bill was one of those students that dedicated nerds find maddening. He easily grasped concepts and received good grades without having to overtax himself. With the extra time that less innately intelligent kids would have normally allocated to studying, he directed his energies to sports and became an accomplished diver.

After graduating from Bexley High School, Bill attended Ohio University. He joined the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and somehow, despite all odds, charmed Linda Friend (née Vance), who was way out of his league, to date him. Bill has always liked and followed rules but on so many occasions in college, his “mile-a minute” brain and the resulting “here-and-now” distraction when combined with his sense of adventure and penchant to connect with a broad swath of people, meant that he was never short on accidental yet hysterically funny stories that somehow always left him unscathed. Bill earned his BA in Business Administration.

His father’s success as an attorney and his mother’s business acumen encouraged Bill to pursue a law degree and he earned his Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University. An attorney, he was a Member of the Massachusetts, Ohio, and American Bar Associations. Bill became a marathon runner and squash devotee during this period of his life. He and his now wife, Linda, who was supporting him through law school as a graphic designer, resided in German Village, an electric community in Columbus where they made lots of friends, enjoyed German beer and brats, played in a softball league, loved their rescue cats, and threw epic parties.

Bill and Linda became parents in 1983 with the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth. Bill was always a devoted and hands-on father who instilled in her a strong sense of open-mindedness, intellectual pursuit, and an appreciation of the art of a well-reasoned debate. He was so successful, in fact, that he eventually found himself losing most arguments to his “mini-me,” a reality that he could not have been more proud of.

Throughout his career, Bill held senior level corporate executive positions with responsibility in the legal departments of public corporations where he provided expertise in general corporate, real estate, contract, trademark, employment, bankruptcy and securities law. In his retirement, Bill proudly volunteered for and served on the Board of Directors for New England Wildlife Center and South Shore Country Club, of which the latter became his second home and family.

Bill was a true lover of life; he was a humorous storyteller, avid reader of mystery books, determined backyard tomato gardener, and dedicated Ohio State University football fan. He was a facilitator, voice of reason, loyal comadre, giver, and all around good guy. He was one of a kind. Bill will never be forgotten but forever remembered and missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him. 

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