I think it's appropriate that there be a thread in the Country Buggy section about Bill’s death. I see the thread in the General Chit Chat but not all CB people watch that topic. http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=105518 
I’m sure there’s acknowledgement on Volksculture too.

I first contacted bill many years ago when I started restoration of my CB, KO-813. Bought a literature pack from him, best investment you could make in a CB restoration.

I hoped to meet him at the Salt in 2013 but as I was driving up the dirt on the Thursday I passed the VW boys on their way out, and you can’t stop someone to talk on that road (they didn’t have their CB on), so sadly that was as close as I ever got.

What a great bloke he was, did so much for the CB “cause”, was a great help & support to me personally.

Although I‘ve never met him, I’ll miss him. Let’s all of us carry on the good work.

Tony Beven

I missed it for a day to Tony and I can only agree with everything you said. He was an inspiration for me and I was lucky to have known him for about 20 years infact he is a big reason that I am restoring mine now, I only hope the Country Buggy scene keeps on growing.
RIP Bill
Arty

I was deeply saddened by the news of Bill's passing - the small Country Buggy community has lost a significant source of support, information and encouragement. However, I'm sure his family will feel the loss infinitely more than we CB owners.

Bill was quick to help me when I was replacing our CB roof together with assistance to resolve other small issues. Bill will be missed!

regards

Rob

Very sad to hear of Bill, s passing he helped me with a roof many years ago and nothing was too much trouble, just to here him talk about cb,s was a education and a pleasure.. fly high Bill.

I just learned of this sad news via John Kelcik this morning.
Bill was very helpful and informative when I first posed questions to him about the few CBs in the USA approimately ten years ago. He was always quick to reply, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable.
I even purchased a packet of CB info he had reproduced for those seeking more info on the uniquely Aussie VW.

I extend my deepest sympathies to his family and all his VW freiends and acquaintences.

Well done, Billl!
You will be missed......

Sincerely,
Steve Koontz
Gas City, Indiana, USA

Very sad to here about Bill he knew all the part numbers i sent a email to him once he was in Europe on holidays he still emailed me back He was a Genius

deepest sympathies to his family

Paul Hartnett Hobart

In the recent thread "Too quiet after Bill's departure", omr_007 asked an extremely relevant question that relates to Bill's passing. I had the same thoughts after Bill died, as well as other questions.
I thought I'd repost those here in hope someone might has some specific knowledge about these questions. I feel this is important to this group, and by reposting more widely, I'm hoping to enlist others who may have specific knowledge of and/or answers to the questions.

Steve

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Your question "Who's looking after new submissions to the register after Bill's passing?" was among others I had the day I learned of Bill's unexpected death. Other things that occurred to me were:

--- What will become of all the contact and location information Bill assembled over the years about CB owners and there locations? To my limited knowledge, Bill was the hub of that data, and was likely the only one with access to it.

--- Bill also had knowledge of where rare and very difficult to find parts and bits were located .....What has become of that info?

--- What about all the electronic files and well as the hard copy paper documents collected by Bill? What will (or has) become of this information? Is it all lost or destroyed now, still sitting right where it was the day of his death, or passed on to another CB enthusiast who preserve it and add to the body of knowledge?

--- Anyone here have any insight or knowledge into what has become of all of the information Bill assembled over the years? Was there ever a general plan by Bill to preserve it or pass it along to someone?

Here in the States, a spouse is generally the inheritor of a partner's real and personal property, unless otherwise specified in a legal document such as a will which dictates the disposition of an individual's property after their demise. If Bill had no such direction in writing, his spouse would have legal possession of the property we are discussing and would be in control of same.......if it still exists. If Bill had not specified what was to become of his body of work, it would now be his wife's property. Often however, after a death of a family member, property of the deceased is often forgotten, misplaced, even destroyed. Bill may have made detailed plans about what was to become of all his information.......however, it is more likely he had NO PLANS about preserving it and passing it along. His death was unexpected and came as a shock. As such, all this info may mean or have little importance to his family, and may be or have been, the last thing on their mind.

It would be a terrible loss and a real shame to think Bill's years of dedication and work expanding the body of knowledge and the hobby of owning and preserving CBs were lost. If anyone here was good friend's with Bill and his family and wishes to see his work saved, perhaps a gentle inquiry into the disposition into the fate of this data might be in order.
It would be a terrible loss to the CB community to see all this hard work destroyed or unavailable for access.

Regards,
Steve Koontz
Indiana, USA