William Anthony Schiro

William "Billy" "Will" Anthony Schiro Will was born March 21, 1985, in Provo, Utah, the only child of Tony L. Schiro and Wendy Logan Schiro. On December 23, 2012, he passed into the loving arms of his mother who had died from cancer only months prior. Will grew up in Lindon, Utah, and attended schools in Lindon and Pleasant Grove where he proved to be a good student with a brilliant mind. He loved the mountains he could see from his back yard and spent many hours exploring their beauty. He learned to fly fish with his Grandpa Shiro and became accomplished at tying flies. Will loved the water—being near it, in it, the music of it, how it soothed him. Will always had a natural curiosity and loved to learn, was an avid reader and a wizard with computers. Adventurous, he enjoyed hiking and motorcycles and would readily tell his life story to a stranger. He liked to cook and was a bold chef, but he abhorred cleaning up and doing housework, so proudly proclaimed himself a "slacker" in this area. However, he appreciated the effort a clean house required and would happily keep company with and entertain others as they cleaned. Will was a kind person who had many pets and gave them gentle care. He was compassionate and encouraged those around him to reach out and achieve goals, and he celebrated in their success. He was bright and funny and laughed easily. Will was also entirely human and struggled in his inner life. He had a lightening temper and was equally fast to let it pass. He was a deep thinker and wanted to understand the mysteries of life. He could be introspective, contemplative, sometimes declaring "a day of silence" for himself. Will had a sense of the sacred, studied philosophies, meditated, and kept a personal journal. But Will always wanted to feel better than he felt. For many years he wrestled with depression, anxiety, addiction and the chaos they caused in his life and relationships. In the past year, Will met his soul mate Susanne and her two children Michelle and Manny, and they became his family. Will loved being with them and had begun a new life with them. Their honesty and openness embraced and supported him. Will was looking forward to being married and their future together as his "gnome family." They gave him hope and strength and courage as he fought for a new way of being. Addiction is a very real disease and a deadly enemy. Like his mother's cancer, Will's disease consumed from within. Addiction cannot be wished away or loved away. Anger and punishment and despair only feed the addiction cycle of fear and pain. If hope or love or brains or sheer guts could cure, Wendy and Billy would both be alive today. Their killers tightened their dark grip and waited in silence for a chance to ambush recovery. We had barely begun to grieve for Wendy. Now Will's sudden death has left those who loved him with hearts filled with sorrow, questions that have no answers, and dreams that remain unfulfilled. We can only comfort each other and love Will as we knew him. Will was preceded in death by his mother Wendy Schiro and grandparents William and Lucile Logan and John and Barbara Schiro. He is survived by his father Tony Schiro, Debbie Walker, his soul mate Susanne Soto, children of his heart Michelle Kidwell and Manuel Soto, uncles, aunts, cousins, lifelong friends Keaton Walker, Tylan Walker, Justin Davis, and Derrick Dixon, two cats, two dogs, a bird, two rats, and a bunny. A memorial service to celebrate Will's life will be held on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, at 1:00 P.M. at the Provo City Cemetery, 610 South State Street, Provo, Utah. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, please honor Will by making a donation in his name to The Humane Society of Utah, 4242 South 300 West, Murray, Utah 84107 (801)261-2919. Condolences may be sent to the family at: www.walkersanderson.com