Bill and I were in high school together in Pelham, NY; I was a year ahead of him. My brother dated his sister Karen for several years, and everyone knew the McKeevers to be one of the most open, welcoming, and interesting families in town. After our respective college careers, Bill and I both gravitated toward Tibetan Buddhism, he, of course, toward Trungpa Rinpoche, first in Vermont and then in Boulder, and I toward the Geluk tradition, going through grad school in Buddhist studies in Madison and thn on to various college teaching posts. Despite our common interests, Bill and I didn't connect all that often over the years, but I would get news of him through my brother or others. I admired the work he did in helping get Naropa off the ground, and I appreciated, too, his later work with the Asia Society and the Deer Park Foundation. He and I last got together at a cafe near Carnegie Hall almost a quarter century ago – it was a delightful afternoon of Dharma shop talk. I was saddened to hear of his declining health in recent years, and was quite touched that, with the help of his caregiver, he was able to tune in to a portion of a talk I gave for Ocean/Chronicles last spring, on the topic of rebirth. We couldn't directly communicate but it was lovely, in the moment, to sense his presence. My heart goes out to Karen and Jim and others in Bill's family and to his many friends in his various mandalas, Dharmic or otherwise. As my Jewish friends say, "May his memory be a blessing!" And as my Sri Lankan friends say, "May he swiftly attain Nibbana!" But I would add a Mahayana coda" May he return to teach and inspire and befreind again!"