My Condolences and Prayers go out to Bill's Family and Friends. He will be missed.
Very sad and very unexpected news. My thoughts and prayers go to the family, especially his wife. I am sure she is devastated. While I did not know him personally I did speak with him at the OGR table in April. I know he had a great reputation amongst the OGR family. We never do know 'the day or the hour' so live your lives to the fullest in honor of Bill.
This forum has brought many people together in a wonderful alliance and love of trains. I doubt there are many other forums out there that have the sense of closeness and camaraderie that exists here.
May God rest his soul and comfort his wife and family.
My layout has been dark since York. I'll light it up tonight and sound the whistles for Bill.
Very sad news. Such a good person to support the hobby. God bless him and his family.
Sending prayers to Bill and his family.
Those of us fortunate enough to know Bill could spend hours relating stories about him and his love of the hobby. But to focus on just a couple would not do him justice.
A Navy and Air Force veteran, he never really retired, and he continued working as an adjunct instructor in the computer science department at Youngstown State University. Until recently, he also worked part time at the Lionel Customer Service Center in Canfield, just a few miles from his home. And, of course, he and Judy were frequent visitors to our OGR office, where he never failed to approach me with an idea for yet another feature (one is in the works now, although it will have to be completed by one of our staff). He had a heart of gold and would willing do anything possible to help others, both in the hobby and otherwise.
Bill was in the process of doing a rebuild of his home layout, and he was excited about the progress he was making. I had very much looked forward to seeing it come to fruition, but, sadly, that is not to be.
I'm sure Judy and the rest of Bill's family and many friends will take comfort in reading the expressions of sympathy and remembrances posted here, and on behalf of all of us at OGR, I want to thank you all very much for contributing your recollections and well-wishes. You can be quite sure that Bill will remain with us in spirit, and he's probably getting a big kick out of seeing this outpouring of affection and gratitude.
We'll take a moment to raise a toast to Bill at the next "Thursday at Fridays" gathering at York--an event he truly loved attending.
May he rest in the tender, loving arms of our Lord. The angels will bring comfort to those left behind. We as hobbiests will miss him dearly. Those who were touched by his articles will miss his style.
Ed, you lost a dear friend who will be right beside you in your thoughts. In the late hours when you're feeling alone trying to finish by that pressing deadline...Rest assured that Bill will be next to you looking over your shoulder. Who knows, he might whisper those words that you're searching for.
Bill, rest in the arms of our Lord knowing that those left behind will carry you in their memories until you meet again.
So sad to hear. He was a valued member of the team here. Prayers to his family and friends.
Wow! That's terrible news.
My thoughts are with his family.
He was such an asset to this forum. He will be greatly missed.
Mike R
My thoughts are with his family.
He was such an asset to this forum. He will be greatly missed.
Mike R
Yeah, what everyone said. I've met Bill a few times and he was so friendly & with a smile. Missed, to be sure.
Dennis
My deepest sympathies to his family and friends in the train hobby. His contributions will be remembered and missed.
My condolences to his family. My prayers are with him and them.
My prayers and sympathies go out to Bill and his family.May he rest in peace.
Peace be with you!
So sad to hear, hard to believe actually. I met Bill a couple of times at Allentown and York, always a pleasure to talk to him. My condolences go out to his wife and family.
What a shock to hear of Bill's passing! He was so full of life it's hard to believe he is no longer with us. My condolences to his family.
Very sorry to hear this news. My condolences to his family and friends.
Terrible news, Prayers up, for his family and friends.
Richie
These are never fun posts to read. As a younger member of the O gauge community it's becoming more and more common to watch as our friends pass on. My thoughts are with Bill's family and with the OGRR staff.
Sincere condolences to Bill's family & the O Gauge RR family. Most times I see "obits" here on the forum of people I've never even met or spoken to, but not the case this time. I often talked with Bill at York & Allentown as we had some geographic issues in common. I'm in Delaware & Bill would often come thru the First State to visit relatives here. This is very sad, indeed. He was a very cordial guy.
Truely sad news, enjoyed his postings and speaking with him at York.
Cesar
I am sorry to hear this.I send my best prayers for the family.And his long time friends.
rest in peace!!
A sad day indeed. My sincere condolences to Bill's friends and family.
We often talk about needing ambassador's to the O-gauge hobby in order to promote the hobby and its finer qualities. Bill was that ambassador and much more. No matter when I saw Bill at the OGR booth at either Allentown or York he had a smile and genuine interest in what you were trying to do with your layout and offered guidance when asked. Bill projected enjoyment in what he was doing in the hobby; be it working at a train meet, writing articles for OGR or updating the OGR community via his website with pictures and text of other members' layouts visited. That enjoyment was often contagious. Bill will be sadly missed.
It is a sad day.
I saw this thread this morning and I just haven't had the words to say. I am just shocked. Just two weeks ago I was watching his Florida trip progress on Facebook. He will be missed by all.
Scott Smith
The thing I remember most about Bill was his never-ending, inexhaustible supply of enthusiasm.
And he always had a smile.
We lost a GOOD MAN today.
This is truly a sad day. Bill and I spent Memorial Day together and later Judy joined us for dinner. I even put Bill to work on the layout after he had taken several photos to post on his website. We had a wonderful day and I really appreciated Bill's love of trains and taking pictures of layouts. Back in 2010 Bill posted his MTH **** Gate Bridge for sell on the forum. First time I had contact with him. I purchased the bridge, which I will forever cherish, and made plans to pick it up at York which was coming up soon. Bill helped me put the bridge in the car's back seat along with 75 switches, a quarter mile of MTH ScaleTrax into the rest of the car. I barely had room to sit and drive 16 hrs back to Florida. He was always eager to help and assist anyway he could. He was a true friend and I enjoyed each time I had to spend with Bill. The first time Bill was at my home he had his grandson with him. I had arranged for my grandson to be with me that night and Bill and I, along with our pride and joy, had a great evening taking pictures and running trains.
It is very difficult for me to come to grips with his passing. I talked with Bill this past Friday and he was telling me about some minor surgery he was having on Saturday. He didn't expressed any concern about it and we barely discussed it. My heartfelt prayers are with Judy and the rest of Bill's family. He was loved by many and is already missed. May God comfort his family and may Bill rest in the arms of our Loving Savior.
So sad to hear. My condolences to his family and friends.
I'm so sorry to hear about Bill's passing. My prayers go out for him and his loved ones.
Our hobby has lost a valued asset that will be missed by all.
Mario
I am so sorry to hear of Bill's passing. Over the years he has been one of my true train buds. Rich used the right word to describe Bill: "enthusiasm." No matter what the conversation turned to one could sense the excitment in his voice. Trains, teaching, the military,photography, traveling; didn't matter because he loved it all. But nothing more than his love for Judy. I will miss him dragging Ed into the Allentown Ham Fam breakfasts at 6:30 a.m. Rest in peace, Bill. And Judy, know the sentiments expressed in this thread are as sincere as sincere can be.
I was shocked and saddened this evening to read Allan's post about Bill's passing. I have known Bill for the past 7-8 years working with my friends from OGR. Bill was always very friendly and energetic - a real pleasure to be around. Ironically enough I had just returned from a full day at the hospital being with my dad who was having a knee replaced. My dad and I had talked at length with Bill about this operation and his success with a similar replacement. It was from Bill's encouragement and other similar success stories about the surgery that my dad decided to have his knee replaced. I had to read Allan's topic multiple times before it really registered that it truly was Bill Parisi. My condolences to Judy and their family. Also to Ed and the rest of the OGR gang and others who knew Bill as a friend.
My prayers and condolences are with Bill's family and friends.
I'm so sorry to hear about Bill's passing. I met him on a few occasions and he was really a top notch guy.
My thoughts go out to his family and extended OGR family,
Mathew
So sorry to hear this. Prayers go out to his family and friends.
This is so sudden. I just can't believe it. I wasn't friends with Bill but I did meet him once at a train show and we talked. I got the impression that he was a real good guy. I enjoyed our conversation. I am very sad to hear of his passing. You could feel his enthusiasm for this hobby through his posts on this forum. My sincerest condolences to his close friends and his family. Especially to you Ed. I know exactly how hard this is going to be on his family. In '97 my mom had an operation in which the doctor said 97% of the patients survive but she was one of the 3%. It was very unexpected and difficult to deal with. God bless his family during this difficult time.
My thoughts and prayers are with Bill's family & friends.
My condolences go out to Bill's family, friends and all those at OGR that worked with Bill over the years. May God grant you peace at this time of sorrow.
Very sorry to hear this.
Art
I am sorry to hear of Bill's passing. He will be missed. I would like to extend my condolences to his family and friends.
Norm Rish
