Rick Willey

Amanda,
Your Dad was a good friend and a very funny man. His sense of humor was warped, but he always made me laugh. We lived upstairs from Rick and Toni in Bensenville back in 1980 and we quickly became great friends for many many yrs. I can remember Rick offering to babysit for my baby daughter one day so Toni and I could go shopping for the afternoon. I brought the diaper bag down to his apt and gave him instructions that if she got really crabby to give her something to keep...

Uncle Rick was the guy who, while talking to us kids would reach around and flick our ear with his finger and when we'd look around, he'd say, "It's those darn bees again!"
As we grew older, our musical tastes lined up as we spent hours talking about the Beatles.. and as adults, he always regarded us as equals, speaking "across" to us instead of down to us. I always loved that.
I'll never forget that unstoppable laughter that came from him in every situation.
My sincerest...

Rick and I always shared our love for animals. I remember one day a mother racoon had her babies in our shed. He would go out there every day and feed her. One day he actually coaxed her out in the middle of the day to take food from his hands.

There will always be a very special piece of my heart that only Rick will have, and he will live there in memories; and there are so many wonderful memories

I don't think I will every watch an Andy Griffith Show or hear a Beatles...

I knew Rick for many years, since we both worked a long time for the Bensenville P.D.. I always enjoyed working with Rick, and always felt very secure when he was working the desk. He was really good at his job. Rick usually worked the Relief Shift, by choice, so he would be on midnight shifts regularly. I remember many times hanging out and talking with him after getting off work at 2:00 am after things had slowed down. Sometimes I stayed for hours! I was not the only one who did this, a...

When I was a kid, I looked up to Uncle Rick because he was a drummer. That was the coolest thing for an uncle to be, I thought. When I got older and became a drummer myself, Rick gave me his old practice pad from middle school: a wood and rubber job which he decorated with his name, address, and school in black magic marker. I still have it.

He was a Beatle fan from the beginning, which, when I got into high school, was an even cooler thing for an uncle to be. He even gave me his...

To My Dearest Amanda,

This book is just a wonderful memory of your father. Always remember that he loved you with all of his heart. The man that we knew had a wonderful sense of humor, quick with a comeback and sometimes was a bit rough. But through all the humor, quick comebacks and roughness you would see the love he had for you by the way he look at you and spoke of you.

I don’t believe that even he knew how much love a father could have for a child until the day that you...

Dear Willey Family,
We would like to add our prayers for Rick and his family.We were fortunate to meet Amanda when she was about 4 years old when we visited Rick in Bensenville.We knew that Rick loved her and was very proud of her.Amanda was such a cute girl and we enjoyed our visits with her being the "center of attention".
While growing up in the 50s and 60s,visiting our Aunts and Uncles were always a highlite.So trips to Bensenville to see Aunt Eleanor ,Uncle Fred ,Priscilla,and Rick...

My fondest memory of Rick is when he was a baby and I would sing, "PONY BOY" to him. It went--"Pony Boy, Pony Boy-won't you be my Pony Boy...etc." I was 15 and there hadn't been a baby born in our family for years. so I enjoyed taking care of my little cousin when he would visit us. He would always smile and laugh when I sang that song to him. He was so brave during all of his health battles and hardships. Whenever we talked on the phone-he would tell about the special times he shared...

Hey daddy!!!

Well were do i begin... well i love all the memories me and you and that silly little daughter of yours! man that girl couldnt deserve anyone better then you!
I liked when i came over and me you and amanda laughed our butts off because she was always dancing those silly dances of hers...
Also i always loved coming over on an empty stomach and eating your delicous whitecastles... ooo they were ooo soo good.
And the one day the last picture I remember...