Bill and I got to know each other at Komex in the mid-'90s and worked together over the following 20-ish years. He always had a sunny disposition and a pun or a quip ready. I wish I had realized he was such a musician! Bill was very generous, and would come to me sometimes to see if he could buy an older computer for someone in need, often a kid. Usually I could scrape one together without accepting any payment for it, which I was happy to do. Bill was a caring soul indeed, and had my respect. I wanted to come to his memorial tomorrow, but I can't come to Calgary at the moment. I always liked Bill, and I wish all of his friends and family well. He is missed.

- Kevin Calvert

I met with Bill many times over the years but it was only in the last few decades did I realize how gifted he was and the extent of his contributions he made to this world. In the late 1990s I visited him in Calgary with my son Thomas. He was more that happy to play the piano and sing - it was great fun as we all joined in. I recall that one of the songs was California Dreamin'.

While most knew him as Bill, I knew him as David...that's how we met...we were introduced at a music conference where he gave a presentation on liturgical music, praise and worship....and it wasn't until later in our friendship that he said he preferred Bill. Somehow though, David sounded and felt more endearing...maybe it's because that is how I had come to know him, and there was much enshrined in his name. We connected as musicians, and a deep interest in music....mine in classical and electronic music and synthesizer programming...and of course David was a noted Ethnomusicologist whose research and scholarship in Afro-Peruvian music was quite known in music circles, and his entry in the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, amongst other music literature was and has been oft cited...also tracing origins of Rap and its lyric and musical structures to the Peruvian decima criolla. We became friends, and there was a tradeoff...I would teach him about electronic music, and he would teach me about about World Music...Peruvian and Indigenous Latin Music, Eastern Music, Middle Eastern Music...it was friendship, education, and exposure to new ways of listening and thinking all in one. Eventually I went on to become his assistant, and we co-established the Victory Outreach Youth Choir where he was one of the Ministers of Music. More than anything, David was a true concert going buddy...I could drag him to anything from Bach to Tangerine Dream and knew that he would enjoy it, but also understand it....and there was something to that...that we were on the same wavelength. My fondest memories are of us seeing Philip Glass's 1000 Airplanes on the Roof at UCLA's Wadsworth Theatre in 1988...and an all-night Wyang Kulit by the Court Performers from the Royal Court of Yogyakarta at the Los Angeles County Arboretum as part of the 1990 Los Angeles Festival...there was something magical about just having sat through 10 non-stop hours of music and theatre, and hearing the final strains of the kulintang as the Sun was rising at 6:00am. We continued to work together on several projects, he started writing a musical...however, eventually David returned to Canada, and I became busy with college and working in the Theatrical Arts. We kept in touch as much as we could...talked and emailed when time allowed, though maybe at times it also seemed that life got busy too. I credit David as a friend, mentor and colleague...surely an integral part of my musical and artistic development, and I wouldn't be as evolved an artist or person as I am without him. There's nothing like seeing the Sun rising with that which is the closest to your heart!

Thank you David!

Thank you Bill!

With Love, Chris

I'm so sorry to hear of Bill's passing. We met when I was in the choir at Hillhurst United Church, and Bill added heart and beauty to our instrumental music. He was a lovely, lovely man.

As the Founder of Komex where Bill worked for many years, I was very saddened to learn of Bill's recent passing. He was a dedicated and well respected member of the Komex staff in Calgary where he took on a variety of responsibilities, including assisting preparation of our marketing materials and also happily took on various other tasks typical in a smallish office such as administering preparation of our technical reports. He always displayed this positive outlook when responding to requests that could range from fixing grammar and spelling errors to preparing project history descriptions. My thoughts are with Bill's family and close friends at this difficult time. Fred Claridge

I knew Bill for a short time while the Community of Christ congregation met at the Lion's Village community room for Sunday worship. Bill provided the music ministry which could enlightening when he would introduce a poplar secular piece explaining that music is the voice of God, that music speaks to us if we but listen and love is the child of God. I enjoyed the discussions with Bill on the ministry of Christ and his openess to differing viewpoints. He was very gracious with his praise for my occasional attempts playing guitar for worship.

My condolences to his family and friends who will miss and reflect not only on Bill's upbeat personality but on the value of each of us that he saw in us.

Bill was an influencer in my life at a time when our brother Kim was lost in a traffic accident in Calgary in 1968. The days following that event, Bill would show up at our home encouraging the entire family, including our mom and dad (Doug & Doreen). I have a picture of my sister and I standing next to Bill at the piano as he played - the look on our faces was one of awe. I was 12 years old; my sister 10. The years have passed and we just recently reconnected. We lost my mom on November 20 and 10 days later we lost you Bill. Wow what a week. You will be missed Bill .... see you on the other side ><> Peter Attrell, Nanaimo, B.C.

Bill and I were close friends during a short period of our lives, our years at UBC. He was two years ahead of me and was one of several people who took me under their wing when I arrived at our small residence. I remember him as intense, with a strong conviction as to what was right and wrong and a strong preference for the underdog. He loved to laugh and jokes of all kinds bubbled out of him. His piano rendering of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, played in styles from Mozart to Rumba to Debussy to the blues always cracked me up. We visited his family in Vulcan during the Christmas break of 1968 and I felt warmly received despite the -40 temperatures. I sang in choirs Bill directed and, just before our lives diverged, he played organ at my wedding. After his years in the U.S. and South America, we had a couple of short but very happy visits in Calgary, where he shared with me his passion for his South American music group and the music he had composed for Val’s school kids. We exchanged the occasional email over the years. And then this week I had a happy and uplifting dream where Bill and I were, once again, playing music together. I opened my computer this morning, intending to send him a “Hello, let’s get together” note – to find a notice of his passing. God works in mysterious ways!

Bill stayed home with me while my family vacationed in Penticton in the summer of 1968 and I attended High School Summer School due to my poor grades. Bill tutored me and introduced me to the music world… I remember humming a newly released hit song (I think it was the Beatles) and then listening in amazement as he played it on our piano… He often visited us after that and I’ll always remember how Bill impacted my life and made sure that I received passing grades and behaved myself.