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Guerri Stevens
April 5th, 2009, 08:20 PM
Dodi and I noticed that Bill hasn't been playing for quite awhile. He
has not responded to Emails, so on Friday I phoned, leaving a message on
his voice mail.

Has anyone heard from him? Does anyone remember his saying he'd not be
playing for some period of time?

--
Guerri

Guerri Stevens
April 8th, 2009, 10:42 AM
I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill
had passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer for 20 years,
and recently something in his neck became infected, some kind of
radiation scar or lesion, and he eventually succumbed to him.

She thanks us for remembering Bill, and I told her a little about the
game and how Bill would always make up puns for the current word, and
we'd all miss him.

--
Guerri

Judy Madnick
April 8th, 2009, 11:02 AM
<< I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that
<< Bill
<< had passed away on March 19.

I am sorry to hear this news! So often we know too little about our online "friends."

Do you know how old he was?

<< She thanks us for remembering Bill, and I told her a little about
<< the
<< game and how Bill would always make up puns for the current
<< word, and
<< we'd all miss him.

That was very nice of you, and I'm sure your input meant a lot to Bill's sister.

Judy

Guerri Stevens
April 8th, 2009, 12:13 PM
GuerriI don't know how old Bill was, but Dodi said something, I think,
about 60s. Dodi???

Judy Madnick wrote:
> << I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that
> << Bill
> << had passed away on March 19.
>
> I am sorry to hear this news! So often we know too little about our online "friends."
>
> Do you know how old he was?
>
> << She thanks us for remembering Bill, and I told her a little about
> << the
> << game and how Bill would always make up puns for the current
> << word, and
> << we'd all miss him.
>
> That was very nice of you, and I'm sure your input meant a lot to Bill's sister.
>
> Judy
>

Hugo Kornelis
April 8th, 2009, 12:45 PM
Hi Guerri,

That is terrible news. I'm glad you called, and I fully support the things
you told Bill's sister about him. I hope that they provide a little
consolation to his family.

He will be missed...

Best, Hugo

----- Original Message -----
From: "Guerri Stevens" <guerri (AT) tapcis (DOT) com>
To: "Google Dixonary" <dixonary (AT) googlegroups (DOT) com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 5:42 PM
Subject: [Dixonary] OT: Bill Hirst


>
> I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill had
> passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer for 20 years, and
> recently something in his neck became infected, some kind of radiation
> scar or lesion, and he eventually succumbed to him.
>
> She thanks us for remembering Bill, and I told her a little about the game
> and how Bill would always make up puns for the current word, and we'd all
> miss him.
>
> --
> Guerri

Dodi Schultz
April 8th, 2009, 02:50 PM
>> I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that
>> Bill had passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer for 20
>> years, and recently something in his neck became infected, some kind
>> of radiation scar or lesion, and he eventually succumbed...


Oh, geez. How utterly rotten.

He'll be sorely missed.

Guerri, did you get any indication of an address--e-mail or, preferably,
postal--where condolences might be sent?

--Dodi

Dodi Schultz
April 8th, 2009, 02:50 PM
>> Do you know how old he was?

He was only 62, Judy.

That's confirmed by the obituary notice (just a single line; it appeared in
the Sun-Sentinel on 31 March).

--Dodi

Marijke van Gans
April 8th, 2009, 04:29 PM
Guerri,

thank you for chasing this up.
>
> I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill had
> passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer

What an utter senseless waste...

> for 20 years,

That's long! I knew he was battling with it some 5 years ago, in his
throat, he wrote about it in a forum (tapcis? scimath? cannot access
my old forum files right now).

> we'd all miss him.

Definitely. I like Dodi's idea of getting hold of an address; is there
one in the Sun/Sentinel ad? Then let's send a little note (with all
our names underneath) so the family knows there's this bunch of people
they may have never met, but who knew him and will remember him. Or
everybody could add a little bit.

--Regards, Marijke
http://www.surd.info/marijke/

Judy G. Russell
April 8th, 2009, 04:47 PM
I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill had passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer for 20 years, and recently something in his neck became infected, some kind of
radiation scar or lesion, and he eventually succumbed to him.

Damn. Damn damn damn. Thanks for letting everyone know, Guerri.

France International
April 8th, 2009, 05:12 PM
That's terrible news. He will indeed be missed. The database says he started
in round 690, but I don't remember when that was. It must have been at least
10 years ago.

--Mike

----- Original Message -----
From: "Guerri Stevens" <guerri (AT) tapcis (DOT) com>
To: "Google Dixonary" <dixonary (AT) googlegroups (DOT) com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 11:42 AM
Subject: [Dixonary] OT: Bill Hirst


>
> I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill
> had passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer for 20 years,
> and recently something in his neck became infected, some kind of
> radiation scar or lesion, and he eventually succumbed to him.
>
> She thanks us for remembering Bill, and I told her a little about the
> game and how Bill would always make up puns for the current word, and
> we'd all miss him.
>
> --
> Guerri
>

Judy Madnick
April 8th, 2009, 06:26 PM
<< He was only 62, Judy.

Oh, my -- worse yet.

<< That's confirmed by the obituary notice (just a single line; it
<< appeared in
<< the Sun-Sentinel on 31 March).

Ah, yes -- Plantation, Florida. We had talked about trying to meet one day since I have family in Ft. Lauderdale.

Judy

Paul Keating
April 8th, 2009, 06:27 PM
Round 690 began on 7 March 1996: it was dealt by Scott Crom and the word was
SPUT. Bill didn't submit a def in that round (as is usual with new players),
but he did in the following round, WATE:

the space between joints of railroad track rails, i.e. the length of the
rail segments between the characteristic "clickey-clack" sounds

which collected 3 votes: no mean feat for a beginner in a round with 29
defs. I suppose I am being fanciful in thinking that I can hear his
characteristic voice even then.

--
Paul Keating
The Hague

----- Original Message -----
From: "France International" <stamps (AT) salsgiver (DOT) com>
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 12:12 AM


> That's terrible news. He will indeed be missed. The database says he
started
> in round 690, but I don't remember when that was. It must have been at
least
> 10 years ago.

France International
April 8th, 2009, 06:40 PM
29 defs! Ah, those were the days. We're dwindling.

On that topic, I sent out an email to some friends who might be interested
in joining, pointing them to the Dixonary Google group, but when I went
there and clicked on the links for various things (rules, statistics), all I
got were "The page you requested is invalid" errors.

Mike

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Keating" <keating (AT) acm (DOT) org>
To: <Dixonary (AT) googlegroups (DOT) com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 7:27 PM
Subject: [Dixonary] Re: OT: Bill Hirst


>
> Round 690 began on 7 March 1996: it was dealt by Scott Crom and the word
was
> SPUT. Bill didn't submit a def in that round (as is usual with new
players),
> but he did in the following round, WATE:
>
> the space between joints of railroad track rails, i.e. the length of the
> rail segments between the characteristic "clickey-clack" sounds
>
> which collected 3 votes: no mean feat for a beginner in a round with 29
> defs. I suppose I am being fanciful in thinking that I can hear his
> characteristic voice even then.
>
> --
> Paul Keating
> The Hague
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "France International" <stamps (AT) salsgiver (DOT) com>
> Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 12:12 AM
>
>
> > That's terrible news. He will indeed be missed. The database says he
> started
> > in round 690, but I don't remember when that was. It must have been at
> least
> > 10 years ago.
>

Dodi Schultz
April 8th, 2009, 07:31 PM
>> I like Dodi's idea of getting hold of an address; is there one in the
>> Sun/Sentinel ad? Then let's send a little note...

Marijke, it's just a one-liner saying that William Hirst of Plantation died
on March 19th and that he was 62. Period. Nothing about cause, survivors,
or anything else.

You can see for yourself: Google Sun-Sentinel +Fort Lauderdale, click on
obituaries in the left-hand column, then enter William Hirst in the search
box, past 30 days.

--Dodi

Chuck
April 8th, 2009, 07:50 PM
What a shame.

And what a long fight he put up.

Please include my name (and perhaps something more) in whatever you
decide is appropriate.

- Chuck

Guerri Stevens
April 8th, 2009, 07:51 PM
Marijke and Dodi, to tell the truth, although I was pretty sure there
was a serious problem of some kind, I was stunned, and didn't think to
ask for an address. I do like the idea of sending a card. If there was a
list of relatives in the obituary, maybe we could track down an address.
Or even send a card to Bill's address.

-- Guerri

Marijke van Gans wrote:
> Guerri,
>
> thank you for chasing this up.
>> I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill had
>> passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer
>
> What an utter senseless waste...
>
>> for 20 years,
>
> That's long! I knew he was battling with it some 5 years ago, in his
> throat, he wrote about it in a forum (tapcis? scimath? cannot access
> my old forum files right now).
>
>> we'd all miss him.
>
> Definitely. I like Dodi's idea of getting hold of an address; is there
> one in the Sun/Sentinel ad? Then let's send a little note (with all
> our names underneath) so the family knows there's this bunch of people
> they may have never met, but who knew him and will remember him. Or
> everybody could add a little bit.
>
> --Regards, Marijke
> http://www.surd.info/marijke/
>

Guerri Stevens
April 8th, 2009, 08:19 PM
Dodi, and others: using switchboard.com I got this address for William
L. Hirst:

5691 SW 1st St #1ST
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33317

I have no idea if that is correct. Is Plantation a part of Fort Lauderdale?

If all else fails, we could try sending a card to Bill's own address,
and assume that someone is picking up his mail, or is having it forwarded.

Guerri

Dodi Schultz wrote:
>
> >> I like Dodi's idea of getting hold of an address; is there one in the
> >> Sun/Sentinel ad? Then let's send a little note...
>
> Marijke, it's just a one-liner saying that William Hirst of Plantation died
> on March 19th and that he was 62. Period. Nothing about cause, survivors,
> or anything else.
>
> You can see for yourself: Google Sun-Sentinel +Fort Lauderdale, click on
> obituaries in the left-hand column, then enter William Hirst in the search
> box, past 30 days.
>
> --Dodi
>

Judy Madnick
April 8th, 2009, 08:48 PM
<< 5691 SW 1st St #1ST
<< Fort Lauderdale, FL 33317

<< I have no idea if that is correct. Is Plantation a part of Fort
<< Lauderdale?

33317 is a valid Plantation ZIP code.

Judy

Tony Abell
April 8th, 2009, 11:50 PM
On 2009-04-08 at 11:42 Guerri Stevens wrote:

> I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill
> had passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer for 20 years,
> and recently something in his neck became infected, some kind of
> radiation scar or lesion, and he eventually succumbed to him.

How awful! I'm so sorry to hear this. I think it's the first time since I
started playing that a player has passed on to the Great Dictionary in the Sky.
I will remember him for his great wit. I'm sure he will be greatly missed by
many of us. 20 years is a long time to have been fighting cancer, but even with
such a fighting spirit there's a limit to one's life span, especially against a
tumor (or whatever) that becomes so formidable that it acquires a gender.

Daniel B. Widdis
April 9th, 2009, 01:21 AM
MS> all I got were "The page you requested is invalid" errors.

I think you may have to be logged in to your gmail account, or perhaps join
the group, before the links work.

--
Dan

Tim Lodge
April 9th, 2009, 03:55 AM
What very sad news.

I seem to remember that Bill posted a photo of himself with his family
a few years ago. Maybe it was in the Tapcis days, as I can't find it
now.

It would be very nice to send our condolences to the family as a
group.

-- Tim L

Dodi Schultz
April 9th, 2009, 09:42 AM
>> Dodi, and others: using switchboard.com I got this address for
>> William L. Hirst:
>>
>> 5691 SW 1st St #1ST
>> Fort Lauderdale, FL 33317

That's more than you get at the other phone sites; SuperPages.com, e.g.,
says the whole listing is "unpublished." Since switchboard.com doesn't
include the phone, there's no way we can try to match the above with the
phone number Bill had previously provided to us--i.e., the one you called.

>> I have no idea if that is correct. Is Plantation a part of Fort
>> Lauderdale?

Yes, Guerri. And that's *probably* our Bill; switchboard.com lists only
five William Hirsts in all of Florida.

>> If all else fails, we could try sending a card to Bill's own
>> address, and assume that someone is picking up his mail...

Or, you could call again and tell Bill's sister that there are a bunch of
folks who'd like to express condolences and ask her to tell you name(s) and
address(es) of nearest/dearest. (My very vague recollection is that Bill
didn't live alone--but I may be wrong.)

--Dodi

Judy Madnick
April 9th, 2009, 09:54 AM
<< That's more than you get at the other phone sites;
<< SuperPages.com, e.g.,
<< says the whole listing is "unpublished." Since switchboard.com
<< doesn't
<< include the phone, there's no way we can try to match the
<< above with the
<< phone number Bill had previously provided to us--i.e., the one
<< you called.

Zabasearch.com has the same address. This is the phone number I found for the address we have: (954) 583-6367.

Judy

Judy Madnick
April 9th, 2009, 10:02 AM
P.S. Let me clarify, since I don't have Bill's address in front of me.

There are two listings in Ft. Lauderdale:

WILLIAM B HIRST
4771 2ND TER
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33334
(954) 771-1281

and

WILLIAM L HIRST
5691 1ST ST
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33317
(954) 583-6367

Judy

schultz@compuserve.com
April 9th, 2009, 11:20 AM
>> Zabasearch.com has the same address. This is the
>> phone number I found for the address we have:
>> (954) 583-6367.

Interesting, Judy. That's *not* the number Bill had
given us, as you can see from our group list. Perhaps
he had two phones, one published and one not. Or,
there are two or more residential units at that address,
one Bill's and another with the above phone. Or, that
address isn't that of our Bill at all.

I think another call needs to be made........

--Dodi


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schultz@compuserve.com
April 9th, 2009, 11:27 AM
>> P.S. Let me clarify...There are two listings
>> in Ft. Lauderdale: WILLIAM B HIRST...and...
>> WILLIAM L HIRST...

Wow. That *really* complicates things, Judy,
since neither one has the phone number that Bill
had provided to the group.

--Dodi



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Exchange - http://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail

Dodi Schultz
April 9th, 2009, 03:06 PM
>> This is the phone number I found for the address we have: (954)
>> 583-6367.

Yes, Judy, that's the one listed for William L. There's a different for
William B., at a different Fort Lauderdale address. *Neither* is the phone
number Bill had provided to the group (which is the one Guerri called and
where a message was answered by Bill's sister), which is clearly an
unpublished number. So we don't know if our Bill is William L. or William
B. or *neither*.

--Dodi

Nancy Shepherdson
April 9th, 2009, 05:34 PM
Bill joined just before me (about six months, I think) and was always
just ahead of me in the rankings.

He and I were both cat lovers, too. Look on the member page for his
"photo" -- that was Bill's sense of humor.

I'll miss him, although I didn't know him nearly well enough.

Nancy

Judy Madnick
April 9th, 2009, 08:06 PM
<< Yes, Judy, that's the one listed for William L. There's a different
<< for
<< William B., at a different Fort Lauderdale address.

Yes, I know that. I posted a message with both addresses and phone numbers.

Judy

Jim Hart
April 9th, 2009, 08:34 PM
I'm glad you spoke to Bill's sister and I think a card is a good idea
too. Sometimes a family will appreciate hearing from people they never
have met or about a connection they didn't know about.

When my father died some years back a man I didn't know turned up at
the small funeral service and spoke briefly about how he enjoyed
working with my father and how Dad had helped him as a young engineer.
What struck me was that my father lived a quiet life with a steady but
unremarkable career and had been retired 25 years when he died, and
yet this man, whom the family had never met or even heard of, had seen
the notice in the paper and had come on the day. That little episode
stayed with me and was a reminder that we probably all touch other
lives in ways we never appreciate.


Jim

Lindsey
April 10th, 2009, 12:12 AM
For what it's worth, Ancestry.com has William L. Hirst, Jr., born Nov 1946, listed at 5691 SW 1st St, Plantation, Florida 33314-0801. But that address is dated 1993.

Guerri Stevens
April 10th, 2009, 06:30 AM
The number Bill gave us does start with 583 although the last 4 digits
are different. The number for Judy's other find has a different first 3
digits. Which may or may not mean anything.

-- Guerri

schultz (AT) compuserve (DOT) com wrote:
>
>
>>> Zabasearch.com has the same address. This is the
>>> phone number I found for the address we have:
>>> (954) 583-6367.
>
> Interesting, Judy. That's *not* the number Bill had
> given us, as you can see from our group list. Perhaps
> he had two phones, one published and one not. Or,
> there are two or more residential units at that address,
> one Bill's and another with the above phone. Or, that
> address isn't that of our Bill at all.
>
> I think another call needs to be made........

Guerri Stevens
April 10th, 2009, 06:30 AM
The birthdate would be reasonable for the age 62 in the obituary. And
the address matches what I found.

-- Guerri

Lindsey wrote:
> For what it's worth, Ancestry.com has William L. Hirst, Jr., born Nov
> 1946, listed at 5691 SW 1st St, Plantation, Florida 33314-0801. But
> that address is dated 1993.
>
>

Judy Madnick
April 10th, 2009, 07:15 AM
<< > For what it's worth, Ancestry.com has William L. Hirst, Jr.,
<< born Nov
<< > 1946, listed at 5691 SW 1st St, Plantation, Florida
<< 33314-0801. But
<< > that address is dated 1993.

Zabasearch showed that address as I believe it was 2004.

Judy

Dodi Schultz
April 10th, 2009, 09:26 AM
>> For what it's worth, Ancestry.com has William L. Hirst, Jr., born Nov
>> 1946, listed at 5691 SW 1st St, Plantation, Florida 33314-0801. But
>> that address is dated 1993.
>>
>> --Lindsey

That *was* the month and year of our Bill's birth. And that's sort of like
one of the addresses that's turned up in various places, except the others
have the zip as 33317 and the PO as Fort Lauderdale, and one of them
doesn't have the "SW" in front of the street. Seems to me the only way to
get an accurate address (as well as names of spouse or companion or other
kin) is another call to the number we know to be Bill's.

Dodi Schultz
April 10th, 2009, 09:27 AM
>> The number Bill gave us does start with 583 although the last 4
>> digits are different. The number for Judy's other find has a
>> different first 3 digits. Which may or may not mean anything.

Guerri, we've been running around all over the Web and coming up with all
sorts of variations; now, Lindsey's come up with still another, from a
different source, with a different post office and zip.

There's just one thing we know for sure: The number Bill *gave* us was his
real number, and it's the one that brought you the call-back from his
sister. I suggest that, since you've already spoken to her, it would
probably make sense for you to be the one to make another call to that
number; explain that we'd like to put something in writing, whether
individually or as a group or both; and get from her the accurate address
as well as family name(s).

--Dodi

Judy Madnick
April 10th, 2009, 09:47 AM
Has anyone Googled the number Bill gave us?

Judy

Guerri Stevens
April 11th, 2009, 03:38 AM
Since no one else seems willing to make the call and since we can't
verify the address, I'll call again and see what I can find out. I will
be busy for the next few days, so will probably not do it until the
middle of next week.

Guerri

Dodi Schultz wrote:
>
> Guerri, we've been running around all over the Web and coming up with all
> sorts of variations; now, Lindsey's come up with still another, from a
> different source, with a different post office and zip.
>
> There's just one thing we know for sure: The number Bill *gave* us was his
> real number, and it's the one that brought you the call-back from his
> sister. I suggest that, since you've already spoken to her, it would
> probably make sense for you to be the one to make another call to that
> number; explain that we'd like to put something in writing, whether
> individually or as a group or both; and get from her the accurate address
> as well as family name(s).

Tim Lodge
April 11th, 2009, 04:58 AM
Judy

I Googled the phone number Bill had given us for the players list, and
got no matches.

-- Tim L

On Apr 10, 3:47*pm, "Judy Madnick" <jmadn... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
> Has anyone Googled the number Bill gave us?
>
> Judy

Lindsey
April 18th, 2009, 01:24 AM
That *was* the month and year of our Bill's birth. And that's sort of like one of the addresses that's turned up in various places, except the others have the zip as 33317 and the PO as Fort Lauderdale, and one of them doesn't have the "SW" in front of the street. Seems to me the only way to get an accurate address (as well as names of spouse or companion or other kin) is another call to the number we know to be Bill's.

Could well be that the zip code and even the PO designation have changed since 1993. I know a couple of areas here that have added a zip code in the last few years, and others that have changed the PO designation from "Richmond" to "Henrico". Did you guys ever get a current address?

Guerri Stevens
April 18th, 2009, 05:22 AM
No, I will be calling the number we know about and will hope that I get
a response again.

-- Guerri

Lindsey wrote:
>
> Could well be that the zip code and even the PO designation have
> changed since 1993. I know a couple of areas here that have added a zip
> code in the last few years, and others that have changed the PO
> designation from "Richmond" to "Henrico". Did you guys ever get a
> current address?
>
>

Lindsey
April 19th, 2009, 01:30 AM
No, I will be calling the number we know about and will hope that I get a response again.

I hope so, too!

davidh
April 24th, 2009, 09:51 PM
I got a call a few minutes ago from Bill's sister. She said that Bill
had passed away on March 19. He had been fighting cancer for 20 years,
and recently something in his neck became infected, some kind of
radiation scar or lesion, and he eventually succumbed to him.

She thanks us for remembering Bill, and I told her a little about the
game and how Bill would always make up puns for the current word, and
we'd all miss him.

--
Guerri
I seem to remember that during the 2005 [?] hurricane season that Bill also mentioned that his daughter had won some kind of beauty contest.

But perhaps I am mistaken. 2004 was probably the worst hurricane season in Florida , and this forum only opened in May 2005, IIRC?

Guerri Stevens
May 6th, 2009, 07:32 PM
I finally heard from Bill's sister, after deciding to go ahead and mail
the card to the one address that seemed reasonable. Luckily that *was*
the right address, and she says mail is being forwarded so she'll get it.

She also said that she has located a list of passwords, and will be
logging into tapcis.com so she can read what he wrote and what was
written about him (of course she doesn't need passwords for that). I
suggested she join the game, but she said no.

--
Guerri

Judy G. Russell
May 6th, 2009, 09:49 PM
I finally heard from Bill's sister, after deciding to go ahead and mail the card to the one address that seemed reasonable. Luckily that *was* the right address, and she says mail is being forwarded so she'll get it.


Thanks so much for following up on this, Guerri. I'm so glad Bill's sister will have
a chance to find out how very well he was regarded here.

Dodi Schultz
May 6th, 2009, 11:20 PM
>> I finally heard from Bill's sister, after deciding to go ahead and
>> mail the card to the one address that seemed reasonable. Luckily
>> that *was* the right address, and she says mail is being forwarded
>> so she'll get it.

Guerri, which of the addresses *was* that?

Did you happen to learn his sister's name? And whether there was a wife or
companion?

--Dodi