This Feb 7 we will celebrate Bill's beautiful life. Gone so suddenly, he held a special place in all our hearts and lives. He wore a long list of titles,son, husband, father, brother in law, uncle, son in law and friend. A great guy, always willing to give a hand. The Hoban family welcomed him February 1985 when he married Eileen. One of my favorite memories is the Halloween parties at the Smith house. Those were the days.
On the water
On the water, on a bigger boat. Cruising Alaska
Here's is a memory from a new cousin:
Jesse had told me
about his cousin’s Big O Tires shop in Needles. Even before I met Jesse,
I was in Needles and the surrounding area, on a regular basis for one of my
company’s projects. Anyway, I kept looking off the freeway and in the
nearby area and never saw a Big O Tires. It was the day we met with the
Mayor of Needles that as we made that last turn, I saw it! I was with a
colleague and said, “after this meeting, I am going into Big O”. I went
in and asked for Eileen. They said she was off but Bill was there.
They told me to go through the doors into the shop. I thought that
was so cool, as only in a small town would they just say, “…sure, go into the
shop”. I went in there and asked for Bill. They pointed me to his
desk. I introduced myself stating that I was marrying Sharon McIntyre (Hoban’s)
son in Michigan and that Sharon was Tom’s sister. It took him a minute to
process (heck, it took me that long too), and he said, “What the hell are you
doing here?” with a big smile on his face. He was very kind. Bill was the
very first of Jesse’s CA family that I met. Shortly thereafter, I was
back in town, and I went to dinner with Bill and Eileen. It was such a nice
time. Eileen was asking about the work I did there, and with me being so “passionate”
(ha) and fairly “high strung”, Bill said to me something like…”You aren’t
working. Take a deep breath and have a beer.” He was totally correct.
I then asked how they met, and it was simply charming. I may
butcher this a bit but something to the effect that Eileen was visiting a
friend, and the friend’s brother (Bill) was to drive them around in a boat.
Ultimately, Eileen came to Needles and never looked back. :) True
love and its finest. I remember them smiling at each other as they told
me that story, and me smiling not only at them but inside, as I felt I had
found that love with my husband-to-be. A very fond memory….fond indeed.
Much love,
Christine
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