William M. Vertin

It stuck me that the anniversary of Bill's passing was right around this time and as I write this its almost exactly 4 years to the date. I still can't believe it. I think of him often. We were friends for many, many years. We traveled together to Acapulco, Hawaii, New York, Key West and went on 2 cruises...one that started in Montreal and ended in New York and the other was a cruise through the Greek Isles. I have great memories and great stories of all of them thanks to Bill. I can sum Bill...

I am so sorry to hear about Bill's passing. I have known Bill since 9th grade, we graduated from High School together in 1974. I visited him few times up at Western during college. We had many good laughs together.Bill was always the one who would crack jokes, great smile,was always active in school activities.Even though I haven't seen him in many years, I often thought about him. I was so saddened to read about his death in the Detroit Free Press. My thoughts and prayers are with his family...

Bill was more than our dear friend. He was the organizer of all the functions...
New Years eve, Thanksgiving, birthdays, pre-event gatherings at his home
and just because parties. He did all of this with extreme pleasure and pure happiness.
He loved entertaining and taking care of his
friends and family. When I think of Bill I'll always remember the guy with the
biggest heart and contagious smile...The void can only be filled knowing that he
is our eternal sunshine.
Love...

As a youth I recall adults talking about death as "tragic" when referring to the dates on a young person's grave stone. As an adult I have come to realize that the dates on a grave stone tell us nothing. We need to know about the dash between those dates.
Bill Vertin's dash through life was filled with love of family, friends, and community; generosity of time and spirit; joy for life and living; talent of craft and with people; laughter; kindness; sharing; deep intellectual...

I had the fortune of working for Bill on a number of homes we rebuilt. He was such a genuinely good man who was a pleasure to work for. Add to that his imagination, his inventiveness and his design sense and the result is every day was a joy! I will forever miss our next project.

Having Bill in my life, though for too short a time, is a gift for which I am and always will be grateful. His spirit is one of loving and caring and giving, and I appreciate that though his energy has changed form, he is still right here and with us all at the same time. A special man who added only good to our world!

Although we laughed about the terminology Bill truly was a "pillar of decorum." If you want to know how to handle a social situation properly, ask yourself 'what would Bill do?' and you will be well served. He was a talented man with a flair for party giving and decorating. I know he loved his large family and would enjoy getting together with them for weddings, anniversaries and other family events. He was a great friend to his 'adopted' family of friends in California. He often hosted...

Bill was a true gift to this world. His smile, his optimistic attitude and his willingness to share of his time and talents with friends and family were extraordinary!
We assumed that Bill would always be here - in many ways he always will!

We were so unprepared to lose our good friend so soon. Bill designed our new home with us and created a beautiful environment for us to enjoy for years to come. We have such wonderful memories of Bill and his dedication to his friends. He was such a gift to us. We are truly lucky to have shared his life. His passion was doing so much for others and making them happy. He is a model of a good friend and an amazing person. I know we are better people for having him in our lives. We miss...