William was born in Arkansas. He went north to Missouri in 1942, to join the Military. He was married at the time, but had no children yet. He was inducted at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and assigned to the Air Force.  He served in North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama, as a mess officer at shipping and receiving stations--where service men were relocated. At the end of WWII, he returned to Ft. Leavenworth for his release from the military. From there, he lived in Missouri a short time, then returned to Arkansas. He has one daughter and three granddaughters. 

When asked how he spends a "normal" day, William replied "Working all the time." He has traveled all over the U.S. Shortly after his wife died, William bought a train ticket and ended up touring most of the country. A couple of years and many miles later, he was passing through the midwest, and called a former brother-in-law. The brother-in-law, upon hearing his voice, asked, "Where are you?" To that, William responded, "I'm at the bus station, and if somebody doesn't come down here pretty soon, I'm off again." The brother-in-law went to the bus station, and William ended up staying in Missouri. 

"I like to feel like I'm helping," William said in answer to a question on what makes him feel good about what he does. "My first wife spent eight years in a nursing home, so I know what it's like to be there. I think everybody who works in those places should feel the same way, too." Asked what makes him feel bad, he responded, "I don't feel bad. I just enjoy everything."

William came to his current position in a long term care center in the following manner: "I met a lady who had been visiting someone who lived there. We just got to talking about it, and then shortly after that this job opened up, and I applied. I was 77 at the time." That was six years ago.

"Cleaning!" is the one thing that William does that really identifies him. "I like to make sure everything really looks good. I was in floor covering for 47 years, and I still like to make my floors look better than anybody's. The picture below is testimony of the shining floors at his place of employment.

William "retired" at 62. He had planned to live a life of leisure, but after five weeks--with the garage cleaned, the weeds all cut, the fence fixed, and the trees trimmed--he realized he had nothing left to do. He then went back to work. He worked several years for a carpet store, then retired again. The second time, he actually stayed retired for two months. Bored and feeling a need to stay active and productive, he took the job where he is today, at a large long-term-care facility for the elderly. 

"Helping somebody . . .anybody. Regardless of where," is the one thing in life that means the most to William.  According to his employer and co-workers, his desire to help others is reflected in his devotion to the residents of the facility. . . and their devotion to him. The pictures below show him with two of the residents.
 

The picture below is William standing beside the care center's activities director, Rhonda.  William is referred to by the staff as "a jewel," "a treasure," and "a truly fantastic gentleman."
 

How would he adapt or cope with a challenge? "I can adapt to anything. I just put my mind to it. I've worked all my life. My first job was washing dishes in a restaurant, making 50 cents a day. My second job was working at a Grill, where I made $45 a week, and my third was for the Rock Island Railroad as a cook on The Rocket, where I made $96 a week. I was drafted into WWII while working for the railroad.

"I never worry about anything," William said in response to a question about how he reacted when things didn't go the way he wanted them to go. "I just do the next best thing. There's always another way." As for feeling blue, he said, "I don't ever remember having that feeling."

William had to restart his financial planning in his middle years, because he was broke when his wife died. Her medical bills had used up all of their financial resources. He feels, though, that he now has adequate money to do pretty much what he wants to do. 

The only organizations to which he has belonged over the years are his church, and the Mason's Lodge. "I actually have kept up with the National Baptist Convention, and attend that every year. I was ordained a deacon in the church in 1953." 

William has one daughter from his first marriage, and he also has three granddaughters. His first wife died 12 years ago, and he later remarried. His  second marriage ended in divorce. What is William's mental outlook today? "I'm doing better than anybody else I know." His cheerful, positive voice testifies that he is a sincerely contented man.

Finally, William was asked what he would do differently if he could start over. He replied, "I would do nothing different."