William Abbate

Bill was great. He was the first friend I made when I moved to Japan as a 10th grader in 1977. We met is Mrs. Kabira´s Western Civilization history class. Being a grade apart (Bill was in 9th grade then) I am not sure we ever had any other classes together, but we remained good friends for the rest of our time as ASIJ. He was super friendly, funny, and would like to kid around. We played soccer together on the "Scrubs" team. Scrubs was the name Bill used for those of us who weren´t good enough to be on the varsity team. The name stuck. I think the coach was the only one who called us the "JV team", to everyone else we were the scrubs. Bill was also good friend to have for our daily commute to and from school by train. He was always entertaining.

Although the last time I saw Bill was in 1980, I followed his career in radio. Since we both went to college in Boston, I could hear him on the local stations, like his college station, then the bigger alternative rock station WFNX, then the even bigger WBCN. When Bill became a New England Patriot pre-game host, I would brag to people that he was my friend from back in Japan. I was always glad to hear how successful he had become. When my children were applying for college in the 2010´s they had friends who were thinking of going to Boston´s Emerson college. I said that I know the Dean of Admissions (namely Bill) and would be glad to talk to him their behalf. No one took me up on my offer, so I never reached out to Bill. And now that Bill is gone, I regret it even more, that I didn´t reach out to him anyway just to talk and catch up. Bill, I will miss you.

p.s. the attached photo is Bill's 11th grade yearbook picture.

I did not know Bill that well, but I used to see him on the road quite often representing Framingham State University. Bill was very mild mannered and well spoken, dedicated to his work. I feel that his gentle and calm demeanor will be missed in this world, and I surely will miss exchanging conversations with him as I continue my career in university admissions.

Alice, Zach, and James,
I know that there are no words that will ease your pain.
We are sending you love and you are all in our thoughts and prayers.

May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived.

Dear Barbara and Bill,
Please accept and share our deepest sympathy with your family. Our hearts ache for you.
With love and compassion,
Patty & Chuck

Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Bill. May the gifts he gave to you of himself bring you comfort.
Claire Ramsbottom, Trustee FSU

My sincerest condolences to the family and friends of William,
Ursula Kretschman and family, Towne Hill Road, Bradford, MA

Alice, Zachary and Jane´s, I´m very sorry for your sudden loss. Vin enjoyed his company years ago at the Pats games.Sincerely, Joanne Zullo