This is a small tribute to our friend Bill Shockley. Bill was a fun loving character that had lots of
friends from many of the different groups in high school. Thanks to Lisa (Martinez) Jefferson, we have
some pictures to help remember Bill by. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of the old Toyota Land
Cruiser that we all remember. As many of you know Bill passed away at a very young age - way back in 1985.
He was involved in a simple but tragic car accident. He was at the old Taco Bell on Tufts and Broadway,
when the throttle on the old Cruiser stuck wide open. Bill and the Cruiser slammed into the side of the
building and Bill never regained consciousness.
Lots of people have special memories of Bill. For me it's a story I still about Bill using that old cruiser
to help rescue Allen Whitaker and I when Allen sank his VW Bug deep enough that he had to climb out the sun
roof in a deep spot in Bear Creek, while screwing around driving down the creek. Bill was able to pull his
old Cruiser with it's Chevy 427 and the Munsey 4 speed right down the sandy bank of the river to pull the
little orange bug out of the hole were it was sunk up past it's windows! Bill's Cruiser was quite a beast,
and Bill seem to love it as only a teen age boy can love a car.
Please enjoy these pictures of Bill, and think about how young you were in 1985. We will always get to remember
Bill as the fun loving kid that loved cars and was a bit wild around the edges!
|
