Willis would have turned 72 on October 28, 2024. Had he been with us in person, he would have resisted all attempts to celebrate his birthday, but, when possible, we pulled together a celebration, always sent him cards, or at least called and left a birthday message.  He always introduced me to others as his older sister, stressing the "older" part!  And then I always referred to him as my baby brother!  Yes, I was born in May of 1950; he in October of 1952. I remember him as a new baby: chubby, happy, active. When he was tired, I learned that if I brushed his hair with a little soft bristled brush, he would relax, get sleepy, and if I stopped before he fell asleep, he let me know that I needed to continue! All through his life, he liked to have his hair brushed by anyone willing to do this.  another way I learned he liked to have me soothe him, was to wash his face with a warm washcloth. Often, if he needed to have his face washed, he would insist that I be the one to do it.  We played together a lot, often with his Lincoln Logs and his erector set. We also commandeered the kitchen table, setting up his farm set, complete with barn, house, fences, people, animals, watering and feeding troughs, hay bales, etc. And we did fill the troughs with water or rolled oats, made our own bales out of grass, made our own trees, etc.   Our patient mother often let us keep our farm set up on the table for days, forcing us to eat from a small card table!  Another example of our mother's patience was when we returned from  playing at the various frog ponds we frequented, carrying frog eggs or pollywogs, with enough pond water for them to grow into full fledged frogs. Talk about hands on learning! We could see first-hand the cycle of growth, and eventually, we scooped up the frogs and returned them to their frog pond! The tub was scrubbed and we resumed using it for its purpose!  This tub years later became a source of annoyance....and amusement. When Willis began working, or after working on his various cars he came home, tired and dirty, and took a bath. We learned that he liked to take long baths, but usually fell asleep. Because we only had one bathroom, this became a big problem. Repeated requests for him to finish his bath as someone else needed to use the bathroom often went ignored. Getting very tired of this, we devised our own methods of encouragement: we discovered that a cold water filled squirt gun perfectly aimed over the top of the closed bathroom door brought about the best reaction possible! He woke up from his nap in the now cold water in the tub, yelled at us and quickly got dressed and something like this was what he said: "Oh, you think you're so funny, don't you? Well, two can play that trick, you know!"  We did have water fights other times, again, our patient mother tolerated it and made sure we cleaned up all evidence before our father got home.  I got him good other times, if he was ignoring me, when he was working on his cars, right under the kitchen window.  It was quite fun to open the window, call him in to supper, and to get a response, I used that same technique of well-aimed squirt gun or bottle to my unsuspecting car-repairing brother! He loved to play pranks on all of us...guess that was one way of paying us back!!   So many memories of times with him that it would take a lot of space to write about them.  We had a pretty good relationship, but when our father died, he was almost 14 and I, 17, we became much closer. We had to grow up pretty fast then, and both became more responsible than ever.  We talked a lot, about everything. He and I continued this throughout our lives.  We often called just to say hi, but when problems rose up, we often turned to each other to vent, problem solve, challenge.  I loved it when he just wanted to share something funny, or to see if he knew something that I didn't, and then brag about it!  Like when we were both raising chickens, he called me one day and asked without  saying anything else, said"How do you tell what color egg a hen will lay, just by looking at her?" Since I didn't know, he proudly said, " Look at her ear feathers! If they are brown or black, the eggs are going to be shades of brown; if the feathers are light tan or white, the eggs will probably be white as well"! Here's another call: what do you call the part of your face right under your nose?  He told me, but I do not remember!! Many conversations are remembered. We loved to go to Fryeburg fair together, took several rides to Vermont to see family. We talked about many things, and listened to favorite music: John Prine, Levon Helms & Aarlo Guthrie kept us company. I will always remember our times together.  I will always miss him and wish I could just one more time meet for lunch at Pizza Hut or someplace for Chinese food, or Italian Sandwiches.  One more time to marvel over a snowstorm, or Northern Lights, or a dog sitting in the drivers seat, like they were driving the car! (He informed me he was going to start taking pictures of these driver dogs and publish a book!)  One more time as we say goodbye, to have him tell me he loved me, and I'd reply,  "I love you too"......

• I worked with Willie in the Portland Fire Department and when talking to him, he told me he lived just down the street from me on Forest Lane in Cumberland. He said he moved because of a somewhat "nutty neighbor". I always liked him. He was a great guy. My condolences  to his family.