William Hervey Laufer

To my Uncle Bill: An amazing human being.
Your time on earth was far too short...too short for those who'd loved you, or those simply blessed to have known you. You lived life with passion. You served your country well, touching so many lives across your journeys. Your poetry and art will live on in myriad ways. Although we could only talk a scant few times a year, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations and will deeply miss them. I wish we could've shared more. You will forever be a shining star that shall twinkle in all of the hearts who were privileged to have crossed your path. I love you, Uncle Bill.
Wendy Laufer

Bill, Dear brother, Gentle, kind, generous, loving, and his dogs’ best friend. I watched him hand feed cooked, peppered bacon to his 2 labs when we visited, The Woodlands. I walked with bill and the dogs one night the neighborhood and was amazed that he was lost. I thought I was the only one in the family with no sense of direction.

Out mother, Kate died from the ravages of TB for months after bills birth and a few days after I, his sister turned 5. We were separated in those early years and later raised by an Aunt and Uncle who’s mantra was “Children should be seen and not heard” so we whispered to each other when out of ear shot. When Bill got into mischief (opened a hidden box of chocolates’) at age 7 I received the blame. I could see the dimpled grin on that angelic face. I always wanted to protect him and be there for him.

After bill joined the Navy, and was on leave stateside, no miles were too many to get us together for hugs and visits. He would often call when life’s and wars tormented him, his sensibilities incompatible with his Vietnam experiences...

When Guida came into Bills life he became young again and the love of his life. She navigated ship into less turbulent waters and steered it on a new course. She understood his Genius and we could laugh again. I shall love her forever. My walls are covered with his framed art. The framers loved me. His book art prose poetry and prints I shall always treasure.

Bill, always in heart thought part of me died with him.
Kay

So much has been said about Bill already -- and all of it is true. He was a gentleman and a gentle man. And don't let anyone tell you there isn't a difference. He loved Guida, life, animals and nature with a gusto equaled only by a very few. He loved sunshine and rain, but brought only sunshine to those who knew him. And oh what hugs this bear of a man could give. A day was brightened just by having him enter it.

Bill will never be forgotten. He leaves a lengthy legacy -- his love for our dear Guida, his art, his poetry, his printing, his animals -- the list could go on and on. We are reminded of him each time we see any of his art work -- or when we look at a sunset with a renewed sense of awe because we have seen it through his eye.

I've never know a man who loved life OR his wife, the way Bill Laufer did. I know he is up there now regaling God with his wonderful stories. And maybe now he can share his war stories with those service men and women who went before or who will come after.

We are richer for having known you, Bill, and we will look out for Guida. Maybe not in the way you did, but in our own way, because we love her and cherish her too.

When thinking of things to say about Bill Laufer, they sometimes come out gushy and mushy and I don’t think he would want that.

Bill was a man among men, enjoying nothing more than getting together with his Vietnam buddies each week to talk about who knows what, but he was also a man among women. One day Guida and I were reminiscing about the past and she said, “He truly listens to me as if what I have to say is important. We have meaningful conversations about life and the arts. It is an inspiring atmosphere.”

Bill was an outstanding artist. We have a huge metal-cut picture that my husband Joel wanted to purchase even though, at the time, we didn’t have space to display it. The picture now hangs in an honored place in our dining room. We also have four other pieces of art displayed in special locations. At the end, it was too difficult for Bill to traverse the stairs to his workroom, but he still worked downstairs creating wonderful art with ceramic tiles.

He respected women and adored Guida’s writing buddies that included men as well as women. And he was a poet at heart, sensitive, romantic, and could see to the heart of a thing, but never realizing how good he was at it. I was elated when he submitted a couple of excellent poems to the anthology I was publishing at the time and will cherish those books as long as I live.

Maybe this statement will help one realize just what a fine man and husband Bill was. I don’t know how Guida kept from being jealous because all of us gals wanted Bill. He was the perfect husband. Any man who cooked and cleaned, adored and spoiled his wife unmercifully, is very special in my books. Maybe Guida put up with us because she knew he had eyes for only her. When she was in the room nobody else existed. His love and adoration were obvious in his expression.

Guida and Bill were both lucky to have found each other and to have lived a full, enriched life for the time that was allowed them. Guida has many friends and a caring family and will go on, perhaps not with the gusto and security his support gave her, and now with a piece of her heart missing, but she will go on because she will always have the memories.

Bill would want that, and we all need her in order to remind us just how loving and giving a human being can be.

Guida-to share our grief and gratitude. Bill, my "little brother" -from the beginning a very special caring was established. Our Mother left us (died) much too early. You were just a baby. I was 5 years older & took seriously my big brother "protector role". We had many serious and traumatic problems in our young lives. Our Father could not keep his job and income caring for 3 little children. Consequently, we were adopted by a relative. Together, the 3 of us fought the demons and instabilities that occur when loving lives are interupted so abruptly. Bill, we know how wonderfully your life was changed when you met Guida.You began to blossom and you bloomed where you were planted in The Woodlands. Your amazing and innate talents were released. Guida provided the security and acceptance so missing in your life to that point. We will be eternally grateful to her. We shall miss your energetic and positive voice at the other end of the phone. We do celebrate your life and work along with Guida. To you, dear brother, our memories are precious. To you, dear Guida, our love and gratitude make our loss bearable. Lovingly, Dorothy and Charles

Bill--how do I begin to say what I feel about this extraordinary man who came into my life when he married my sister? I was totally fascinated by him, by the amount of information he knew, by his marvelous artistic talent, by his writing abilities, by his charm, his kindness, his humility, and his acceptance of people as they are. He wasn't perfect; he said so himself. But he did have a view of life that seemed to allow him to live above so much of the ugliness of life that often touches so many lives.

When I was first getting to know him, I was so amazed that he could get so lost in a shopping mall. He could get totally turned around. He told me that if he got separated from my sister and me when we were shopping, he guessed he would just have to stay on some bench until someone found him and escorted him out. Then we both laughed and agreed that that could be a very long time. He could petrify in that spot probably before someone would find him. I will not ever forget that conversation. There was more also about finding directions from the sun, moon, and stars, but since they couldn't be seen in the mall, he was out of luck.

I will miss Bill. I am grateful for the fact that he loved my sister and she loved him. He brought a lot of joy and pleasure into her life. They had so much in common.

Glenda Lowery, sister-in-law

Beloved Brother &Sister in Law

Bill grew up in a strict Episcopalian household filled with classical music. The family ate in the dining room with a buzzer under the table to summon the cook, who lived in the third floor quarters. Yet he had great empathy for everyone, especially the underdog. I have never seen him refuse money to a panhandler, even though he knew it would probably not be used for food, and even though Bill didn't ever have much money himself. He could put himself in another man's shoes and imagine the hard lot that brought him to that place. On very few occasions, when he tried to describe the horrors of war, he would choke up and be unable to go on. He thought violence never solved anything, and he couldn't even watch a cop show. Once while attending his "choir practice," when he left the room, one of the men commented, "I don't believe I have ever known a kinder man." I wish Bill had heard that. He WAS the kindest man; I wish I had told him so. But he did know how lucky I considered myself. I told him often. I had never had anyone to confide in like him. He didn't judge my ideas or opinions. He used to tell me, "We live in a no-fault world." When I needed to go somewhere, he didn't wave goodbye, he dropped everything and took me, and read a book patiently while I went about my business. He used to drive me to my writers' meetings in Houston and kill several hours until the meeting was over. He supported me wholeheartedly in any endeavor. When I did my thesis or dissertation he delved into old books he had read to locate references I might find useful. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge. He used to cook for the dogs every night, then cut up the food and sit on the floor to feed them each bite by hand. He used to have grave conversations with Young William, the pre-schooler from across the street. He felt so deeply about things that it was hard for him to give voice to them, even in poetry, so he had to use images. His art was all about texts he was unable to speak. When he was recovering from a quadruple by-pass and they discovered cancer, he went forward without a whimper. Later, when he had recovered from both, I told him how courageous he had been and he thanked me. Now I feel guilty wanting him back when in the last year he suffered so long and so bravely, always telling his friends, "No sweat." I often thanked him for bringing me to The Woodlands, and he thanked me as well. He never wanted to leave, even for a vacation. He would say, "This is my home, the only home I have ever had. Why should I want to go somewhere else?" I know he was happy. I see too that death does not kill love and that ours is still the glue that holds my life together.

I will really miss Bill. He was my step-father and I loved him.

Bill's obituary noted that he was a somewhat private person. As is the case with so many brilliant artists, I think that many people might have found him enigmatic. Yet he didn't appear that way to me. At some level, I understood him implicity -- and he seemed to get me as well.

Among other things, he was an intellectual, artist, writer, decorated career veteran, and dog-lover. He liked good beer, and he enjoyed a good laugh. Most of all, though, he loved my mother. What more could one want in a human?

Those who got to know him well are better people because of it. I'm very thankful to have been one of the few who had that chance.

J. Tucker Jackson

A blanket of sadness fell upon The Woodlands TX and beyond as word spread of the tremendous loss of William H Laufer. His all-too-short-life (in our opinion) on this earth was truly blessed with unending compassion. He fought a courageous battle to the end. He is now whole and without pain. The many friendships he has forged-he will be remembered for all of his accomplishments’. He was indeed a talented man who changed many lives to all he encountered.
Guida-May the memory of Bill and the special life you shared together help ease the sadness of your loss. May God bring you comfort and peace during these most difficulty times. May the love of friends and family guide you through your grief.
Bill showed his love for his family in a special way. God blessed him with given talent. Words cannot express the sadness in our hearts to hear of the loss of Uncle Bill. He will always be remembered and never forgotten.