My 22 year old son passed away on 10-31-17, His name was William, like me he was known as Bill but decided in his teen years to be known only as Will. Only immediate family called him Billy from than on. He was a brilliant kid but socially awkward and preferred the company of adults, smart adults that he could carry on deep conversations with.
In his youth he picked up a guitar, later a banjo and quickly learned to play and sing. With encouragement from both my brother, a guitar player and friends he found the one thing that truly made him happy, music. He loved to play, write songs and sing. While he may never have had a chance at a record contract, he put his all into it and there was a raw emotional appeal that drew you in.
I can still remember on one Christmas when I asked him what could I get him that would be special, he said the Allman Brothers Anthology, talk about a proud Dad.
He suffered a life long battle with depression and quickly decided that any of the drugs that were offered to him were worse than the disease. Eventually through exhaustive study of his condition he made the decision that no treatment would ever help him out and stopped treatment. That led to Will taking his own life.
By this time he had graduated HS and started traveling around the country. He spent a year in Saratoga Springs with his girlfriend were he learned "busking", the act of performing on the street for tips. For him it was the perfect gig, he got to play and sing, doing just what he loved and getting payed for it.
The following year he headed south when it got cold, stopping for a bit in Nashville and finally finding a home in Ashville North Carolina. He also started school at Warren Wilson College.
I'm sure there was a lot more but he rarely called or took calls. By the end, it was about two years since I had any form of contact with him. His Mother and Sister had a little more contact but it was very infrequent.
A well known photographer who specializes in photographing musicians and bands has an office next to the "Triangle", a small city park that is home to many of the city's buskers.
http://www.jgphoto.com/ He noticed Will outside of his doorway one day and they soon became close friends. Will and John would get together almost weekly for dinner, a movie and lengthy conversations. While in Ashville this past week it was very comforting to have met John and have dinner with him. We learned a lot about our son and his life style. I will be forever grateful to John for what he did for my son. He also photographed Will in his studio. When I get the files I will upload one here.
Although Will suffered severe depression he had a gift for talking to his peers at both the college and on the street. The college held a memorial service for Will on Friday evening and college students, faculty members, John and buskers showed up. Over and over again we heard stories about Wills unselfish helpfulness whether it was helping a fellow or new student or a new busker on the streets. It was very touching to see the impact that he had on so many lives.
After the memorial I saw a young man standing by himself and walked over to talk with him. He told me that he had met Will last summer in Nashville and they spoke for just an hour. He told me that he had planned to get up to Ashville this summer to see Will but never made it. After reading about the memorial service to be held in Wills honor on Face Book, he jumped into his car and drove six hours just to be there. That touched me very deeply.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....106637539509700.11401.100004903630488&type=3
Here is a picture of Will and his guitar from the memorial. There were a lot of hugs and tears flowed freely.
So next time you see a busker, take a minute to stop and listen. Even throw a couple or 5 bucks into the guitar case, hat or whatever. And talk to them, you may find there story so very interesting.
Will is survived by his Mother and his Sister, both broken hearted and deeply grieving for there loss.
God Speed Will, as I type this with tears flowing down my face, I just hope your finally at peace with yourself.
BillWojo
