Today would be this handsome man’s 100th birthday. My dad-in-law, Joseph William Longhurst; Bill, to all who knew him; Billy, to his mom. He joined our family in Heaven in 2012, at age 93, after battling Alzheimer’s. When he passed, it was the greatest comfort to know he was back to being his “old self,” his memories were restored, and he could remember us now.
A little over a year ago, his sweetheart joined him in heaven, and I had the privilege of writing part of her life sketch. I gleaned information from the history she had written, but some of the most tender and endearing things I read about her, were written by Bill in his history—what he was thinking when he first met her; how quickly he knew she was the one for him; the memories of them singing whenever they were together. Those insights were a precious treasure.
Bill worked hard on his father’s farm; lost his only brother in a battle on Guam during World War II, a war his brother joined so that Bill could stay home and run the family farm.
Bill lived next door to his parents, eventually took over the farm for them, and cared for them all their days. He had great love for his sisters, and when one moved in next door, he cared for her. He cared for all of us, welcomed all of us, and listened to all of us whenever we needed to talk.
Bill and Zenna raised seven children, ran a farm, volunteered with the Lions Club, and taught their children to appreciate music. I’ll be forever grateful for the son they raised that I get to call my sweetheart.
These are only a smattering of my memories of him: reunions, singing silly songs, neck rubs, foot rubs, trips to the grocery store for fun food, eating his stash of homemade peanut clusters he’d hidden in a shoe box in the garage, making hot chocolate and buttered popcorn together, eating his super-crunchy bacon and lightly blackened toast, going on road trips, going into town for a sandwich (hamburger) or fish and chips, or Chinese food, and listening to his stories as we drove the foothills of the farm.
Happy 100th birthday, Dad Longhurst! We’re grateful you can remember all the good times now! We will always remember you. ❤️
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