Bill Wilson died this day in 1971

[tx...@comcast.net]

Bill W. died at 11.30 p.m. January 24, 1971—on the fifty-third anniversary of his and Lois’s wedding. Our Fellowship had lost its cofounder, Lois lost her beloved husband.

 

Nell Wing was there with Lois when Bill passed... she recounts that memory:

 

"Midmorning on Sunday, January 24, an ambulance was called, and we were all taken to the Westchester airport in White Plains in the early afternoon to await the Lear Jet Brinkley Smithers, an old friend of Bill’s, had ordered. It was to take us to the Miami Heart Institute. The plane wasn’t there yet, however, nor did it arrive for what seemed an eternity as we waited anxiously by the passenger gate. Bill was in the ambulance, requiring constant attention by the aides. Lois, now frantic at the delay, dashed out upon the small runway area of the airport, searching the sky for a sign of the plane. Soon they had to order her off the field. Just as the aides were about to take Bill back to the Westchester hospital, the jet finally arrived with Dr. Ed! We boarded and took off.

 

In Miami, we were met by AA’s and driven to the Miami Heart Institute, where we left Bill. Lois and I checked into separate rooms side by side, at a nearby motel, had a bite to eat, and finally fell into our beds. The phone awaked me at 12.30AM. It was Dr. Ed, in the lobby, telling me Bill was dead and wondering whether to awaken Lois. Bill had died at 11.30PM January 24, 1971—on the fifty-third anniversary of his and Lois’s wedding.

 

AA had lost its cofounder, Lois had lost her beloved husband, and I had lost my closest friend and confidant, the big brother/father figure of my later life. The death certificate noted he had endured emphysema for three years, and pneumonia for two weeks. Congestive heart failure was also named among the contributing causes of death. On the flight down Ed had pointed out the presence of the congestive heart failure.