MOUNT ULLA ó They said goodbye to Bill Karriker on a cold, sunny afternoon Tuesday in Mount Ulla.
They sat shoulder to shoulder in a sanctuary meant to seat 300, but people filled the balcony and spilled out into the foyer.
They came to talk about a man who was a father, grandfather, husband, brother, co-worker, friend.
No matter how long you knew Bill ó for just a short time or for a lifetime ó you were lucky.
Bill was diagnosed with a brain tumor in September. He lost his fight with cancer on Feb. 13, just three days after he and wife Micki celebrated their 35th anniversary, and less than three weeks after the community gathered to raise $30,000 at a fish fry in his honor.Bob Holdorf, Bill’s college roommate, recounted all the roles Bill fulfilled. He said he always dreaded saying goodbye to him for the summer, although he knew he’d see him again.
“The impact Bill had was enormous,” Bob said, looking out into the packed sanctuary at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. “He touched us all, and he never realized the impact he had on us. His legacy lives on in all of us.”
The Rev. Bill Connelly was several months younger than Bill.
“He was a character,” Bill Connelly said. “He loved life. He loved his family. He loved his community.
“I have followed behind him all his life, and I say to him now, save me a park bench beside that living water under the tree of life.”
The Rev. Mary Louise Sitton, St. Luke’s pastor, talked to Bill for the first time in February 2005, when she was a senior seminarian.
“It was an exciting time in my life,” she said, “and I never dreamed that four years later we would be mourning the loss of our friend Bill.
“You only had to meet Bill one time to know he was a very special person. He was friendly, he was compassionate, he was a leader.”
Mary Louise said that this has been a year of contrasts for Bill ó a time of attending weddings and seeing babies born, of time spent with co-workers and friends, and a time of tragedy, hearing “gutwrenching words from doctors that no one wants to hear.”But, she said, “Bill was strong, and we all depended on him. We were all very hopeful something would happen to make Bill well.”
And it did happen last Friday, she said, when he was called home.
Just as his family gathered around his bedside to offer comfort to one another, Mary Louise said, “We turn to God for strength and courage.
“Do not worry. God has saved us through Christ Jesus.”Bill was a natural leader, Mary Louise said, who served in every capacity at church. He was a leader at Hitachi, where his co-workers’ support meant so much to the family.
A classmate pointed out afterward that he was voted most courteous of the class of 1969 at West Rowan High School.
Members of that class stood together after the service Tuesday afternoon, beneath a grove of tall trees.
They said goodbye to their friend and classmate. They said goodbye to a man who had fun and worked hard. They said goodbye to Bill.