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Topic: RIP Bill O'Connor (Washington state steeler) |
Larry Behm
From:
Mt Angel, Or 97362
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Posted 6 Jul 2011 8:00 am |
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Reports are that Bill passed away last night, more details to follow as they become available. Bill was a great great friend to all who knew him and loved the Lord like few you will ever know. I talked to him a few weeks ago and he told me he was ready to go, no problem.
Larry Behm
_________________
'70 D10 Black fatback Emmons PP, Hilton VP, BJS bars, Boss GE-7 for Dobro effect, Zoom MS50G, Stereo Steel amp, Telonics 15” speaker.
Phone: 971-219-8533 |
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 6 Jul 2011 8:12 am
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| Thanks for the update, I also got an email from Paul Tillman today. A dear friend and super talent. Never a kinder soul than Bill. I will miss him very much!! |
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Doug Jones
From:
Oregon & Florida
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Posted 6 Jul 2011 12:50 pm
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| Bill suffered from Mesothelioma that settled in his stomach rather than the usual lung condition. He was stricken late this spring and withered fast. He played fiddle for Loretta Lynn when she lived in Washington and remained good friends with her all these years. My condolences to his wife Lois and the all the O'Connors. He was not only a Steel player, but a bassist and busy fiddler in the Gospel. All that knew him loved his for his kind and gentle nature, his quick humor and wit, the twinkle in his eye and his devotion to the Lord. As Larry mentioned, he told those that spoke to him, he was ready to go. |
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Lynn Stafford
From:
Ridgefield, WA USA
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Posted 7 Jul 2011 5:34 am
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Very sad news about Bill. I knew him pretty well and he was a great guy and a very, very good musician. He once even helped my wife, Kathy with her fiddle playing! I'd certainly like to extend my condolences to his wife, Lois and the O'Connor family.
Lynn and Kathy Stafford |
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Neil Rogerson
From:
Molalla, Oregon, USA
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Posted 13 Jul 2011 10:59 am Bill's memorial
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| Bill's life was celebrated Saturday July 9th at the New Horizens church in Kelso Washington.....the room was filled to standing room only....many of Bill's musician friends as well as neighbors and friends that loved his wonderful sense of humor and quick wit. I enjoyed playing with Bill in our Cowboy church band for the past ten years.....he was easy to love and will be hard to live without. His family are all talented musicians and lovers of The Lord... Neil |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 15 Jul 2011 5:25 am
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| Sorry to hear this, Bill was a Great guy.. |
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Dave Harmonson
From:
Seattle, Wa
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Larry Cummings
From:
Oregon, USA (deceased)
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Posted 16 Jul 2011 12:16 pm
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My condolances to Bill's family.I had the pleasure of buying a steel guitar from him and jaming with him at PGMA gospel convention. I will always remember what a great talant and person he was.It was great visiting whith his wife and him.
With sympathy
Larry and Beth Cummings |
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Susan Alcorn
From:
Baltimore, MD, USA
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Posted 21 Jul 2011 9:32 am
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I remember Bill from when I spent some time in Portland about ten years ago. He was a nice guy and a good musician. My condolences and thoughts are with his family.
_________________
www.susanalcorn.net
"So this is how you swim inward. So this is how you flow outwards. So this is how you pray."
- Mary Oliver |
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Pat Goodbla
From:
Longview, Washington
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Posted 2 Aug 2011 10:06 pm Bill
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Everyone that knew Bill will surely miss him. He was a real prince and a gentleman as well as being multi-talented. He lives on....
_________________
Patrick Goodbla
Pre-RP Mullen D-10 10/10 |
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 18 Aug 2011 6:45 am
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| double post |
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Jack Bowman
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2012 9:59 pm
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Bill Oconnor had an old fiddle , Lord, could he play that thing !
He played the Orange Blosson Special and made the rafters ring!
When he played gospel music,
it sounded like angels, breathing on the strings.
A well rounded Musician, Bill also played the steel.
He could start your feet to tappin' , no matter how you'd feel
He could do that "Steel Guitar Rag" with lightening in his picks
He played it so very good, but you couldnt steal his licks.
I had a dream , a few nights ago, when everything was still.
'was trying to help a man across a street and that man was Bill.
He said "Where are we, Jack, We've made it across, I'd say."
I said "Bill, we just crossed the "Jordan" on the the corner of Broadway.
Was in February that Bill told me. It'll soon be time to go.
so he sold his steels, and hung up his fiddle and the bow.
he told me, "Friend,I think I've played my last show."
I said Bill, you'll get better in a day or so.
He shook his head and said "I'm ready to go"
We lost Bill, back there in of July,
sometimes when we think of it, we both openly cry.
but my wife and I both know that he is in a better place.
We both still can see that warm smile upon his face.
For weeks Bill sat, an talked about the old days with me and the guys
How he and Loretta had done some shows 'n the old times twinkled in his eyes.
He also talked of his boys and girls and the band that they once had.
Kids, you need to know, you could have never, ever, had a better Dad.
Yes, In July his time ran out, but it's still hard to realize.
Sometimes I think....he just caught that ole 'Orange Blossom Special'
and rode her home, to Paradise. |
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Bill Bailey
From:
Kingman, AZ
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Posted 15 Apr 2012 10:33 pm Bill
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Jack, that was a beautiful poem honoring Bill, I never knew him, but may the Lord richly bless his spirit.
_________________
Bill Bailey
Kingman Arizona
2014 Mullen G2 D 10 8+5 Black
92 Emmons Lashley LeGrande D-10
Two Nashville 400 Amps and Nashvill 112.
Last edited by Bill Bailey on 16 Apr 2012 2:02 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 16 Apr 2012 7:01 am
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| Bill will be missed. As when both Eric West and John Carter passed away, we should memorialize him at the upcoming NW steel jam. |
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Jack Bowman
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 16 Apr 2012 10:33 pm
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Bill was a great friend. He and Lois dined with us many times and it was so very interesting to hear his stories.
Once I told him that I had played fiddle on live TV on a two years (1965-67) gig at KREX-TV but I hadnt owned a fiddle for over 50 years since then. He handed me his fiddle and said "see if you forgot how".....and I sawed at it for a couple tunes and it was real bad.
A few days later I heard a knock on the door and Bill was there and he told me that He was giving me that old fiddle because it needed playing. He said "You and this fiddle will get better the more ya play it."
We miss him.
Thanks be to God, we still have Lois in our lives. |
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