Niner

[Sunshine]

4800"Niner"

James "Bill" W. Conine
1957-2015

Niners words to us ALL:

"Man!!!! This "end-of-life" stuff sure leaves a lot of untied things left to do. But, it's like Di and I were talking about the other day.....NONE of that stuff (except for making sure my Will is up to date) is as important as meeting "The Man"......He's calling me home for a reason, I just wish I could know what that reason is in advance ---- so-to-speak.
I'm just grateful He's giving me the chance to say goodbye to the folks that I love!

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Rest In Peace my Friend!

You will be eternally loved and missed by your GoodHunting family.

Bill's Obituary : http://mckoon.com/html/obituaries.html

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[Big Skyz]

Those photos represent some of the best days of my year last year. I still reflect on them often.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Thanks for this post, Cheri.

BKB

[Buckrub]

I can't describe the impact this guy's attitude has had on me. I can only hope to have half the guts and attitude that he did.

[LJ3]

Bucky, that too, is my biggest benefit from having known him.

[Chicken Dinner]

Here's a momento from a weekend with Bill that will live on in the memories of a couple of youngsters long after all of us are gone.

[Buckrub]

Is it only after death that we discover neat things about folks?

It seems in EVERY pic of Bill, that he shows up in the pic in some neat, cool way.... the Lake Conine pic, the "Niner Turkey" pic. This one, peeking out, framed by two deer. I remember thinking this same thing on other pics, not sure now which ones.

Just..........I dunno, just cool..........

Thanks again, Bill. For all the little stuff, and the big ones too.

[Captain]

Here's a few I like of Niner at the SC farm
One was a toast among 4 GoodHunters
One was the last tree stand he ever got in with MUCH effort on his part. That stand is now officially been renamed as Niner's stand.... and always will be.
The other are just a few pictures of some pretty good fish he caught his first year back to the farm from surgery.

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[Chicken Dinner]

I love that last pic. Him getting up in that stand and how happy it made him was the first thing Matt mentioned when I told him the news.

[Arty]

I can't explain the connection that I have with some of the folks on this site. Most would probably say it's "weird".
I said that to say that knowing Bill for many years.... And then finally "knowing" Bill (After really meeting him), he made an impact on my life that will last forever.
His attitude, sense of humor, his knowledge of weird stuff, he was a man's man. And having the honor to see him and visit with him and his wife and sister in law ... Just solidified what I already thought about him. In my mind, and my youngest sons mind, he's a legend, and always will be.

RIP Uncle Bill.

[Captain]

Di's sister was staying with Bill and Di when Arty and I went to visit. SHE had just lost her husband literally a couple of weeks before we were there. She was helping Di and Bill and trying to heal her own self. Now those two sisters both are widowed. Both great ladies and both left with a hole in their hearts.
I pray for peace for them both.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Conine has been on my mind a lot this past few days. We had a house full of company all weekend but he was always there lurking in my thoughts. And I think part of the reason is trying to wrap my brain around how the loss of someone I'd never met face to face could affect me so much. It may be that that's a bit selfish but I think its what I've been trying to sort out.
I knew Bill well enough to know how proud he was of his military service in the Navy. And both of us knew that one thing we had in common is we used the tools we learned in the service in our entire working careers. I knew him well enough to know he was deeply in love with his wife as was she in love with him. It was evident even in the little I knew of his personal life. And the were both very proud of their daughter. I knew him well enough to know that owning his own little piece of land was really important to him. And I know he spent a great deal of time and energy fulfilling the dreams he had for it. I knew him well enough to know he was a good friend to the people he called friends. I corresponded with him a lot by email on Goodhunting business and he did a lot of stuff that a lot of folks don't know about. And he did it for his friends.
So I guess in the big scheme of what it is to know somebody, I knew quite a bit about Niner. And I loved just about all of it.
And I guess that's why he's been on my mind.
I'm gonna miss ya my firend.

BKB

[LJ3]

Good post Barry. I've had the same things bouncing around in my head and I couldn't come near as close as you did to getting the right words around it. Thanks. I've tried explaining it to a couple of people and even though they don't say it, "you knew him from a website, how close could you possibly feel to him?" sort of stuck in the air. Now I know.

and he sure did to quite a bit for this site without most folks knowing about it. He jumped in and rolled up his sleeves to teach himself and keep us running.

He was a good friend, indeed.