"I dedicate May 13 to the memory of a dear family friend, Bill Christian who died suddenly only 11 days after my beloved husband, Norbert, passed away.

My family and I became friends with Bill soon after he arrived in Canada from Germany. Bill and my stepdad, Emil Worm, came from the same area and we, with other newly arrived German families, spent many happy hours together. We took trips to Niagara Falls stopping along the roadside buying and eating freshly picked peaches. (Whoever thought of pesticides then!).

We spent many summer weekends at Ipperwash Beach, walking along the dunes, looking for adventure, but all I found and stepped on was Poison Ivy! On another weekend, Bill almost drowned way out in the lake due to a cramp in his leg and my stepdad quickly swam out to him and brought him back to shore safely. And, on December 1, 1957, the unthinkable happened; my dad was killed in a car-train collision near Cornwall, ON. Bill and another dear friend drove to the area to identify his body and bring my dad home.

Years passed, Bill got married and raised a family. He became a very successful businessman who started singlehandedly, and later with the help of his wife, Karin, and his son, Dan, his own manufacturing company: Chrima Metal Fabrication on Douro Street, Stratford, which employs approximately 100 people.

Bill had a passion for flying and owned his own planes. And he also had a great sense of humour and loved telling jokes. Wherever he and Karin travelled during their retirement, on my birthday, January 3, Bill would call and wish both of us (Norbert's was January 10) a happy birthday. Every call would end with him telling us a joke.

Willi, whenever I spend some time at the cemetery, I always stop by at your resting place and hope that wherever you are now travelling in one of your dream machines, that you will always have two co-pilots with you: your friend Emil (my stepdad) and my best friend, Norbert.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLI! You will never be forgotten. Your friend, Christel."