Confirmation Sponsor — with Bill with Daniel Woodruff

Vanilla Heise in the house of the Lord

I worked with Bill at the ETSU Research Corporation. As a new hire we only overlapped for a couple years, but in that short time Bill left a tremendous impression. He had an unshakable positivity, light-hearted humor, curiosity, and was always willing to share his knowledge, brainstorm ideas, and solve problems. Working with Bill has been a highlight of my time at ETSU, and he's been one of my favorite colleagues in my career. He was singular in his kindness and his easy, confident, veteran mindset. We miss our friend and colleague dearly.

Bill was such a sweet spirit on the first floor of Sam Wilson hall. I will never forget him or his constant encouragement to those around him. 

We had just adopted our sweet toy poodle Sophie from Bill & Lucinda.  While  taking her for a walk she was attacked by another dog.  When I told Bill what happened the following day, he was so calm and reassured me that everything would be ok.  That was Bill…he was everyone’s rock.  He will be greatly missed not just by our family, but everyone.  Thank you for your friendship, Bill.  You made the world a kinder place. 🙏

I didn’t know Bill for very long or very well, but in every interaction we had he gave the impression that he was genuinely glad to see me. His warm and easy manner made me seek out a conversation any Sunday I saw him. My favorite memory of Bill was a Sunday at Daniel Boone. I was sitting behind Bill and Hannah, who was visiting. Throughout the service Hannah sat close to her dad, leaning her head on his shoulder. It seemed like she just wanted to just soak in his goodness. I thought, a man who is loved like must be a good man. It’s easy to see from the hole he leaves behind, indeed he was.

Bill always cooking up something yummy for Hannah and her friends in high school. We had so many wonderful times at the Heise household and cherish all of our memories there.