It’s hard to know where to begin. I first remember Bill at the Orthopedic Hospital. We were going to school. During those days we went to school in our beds as most of us were recovering from various kinds of surgery and unable to move very well. One school day Bill was in a particularly bad mood and I remember him throwing books and papers around the room. He was subsequently sent back to his ‘ward’ and from then on Bill’s schooling took place outside the classroom.
Bill was born in St. John’s and lived most of his early life on Flower Hill eventually moving to Mundy Pond. At age 21 he eloped with his girlfriend, Barb Martin, to Toronto where they were married on November 4th, 1969 and remained married for 37 years.
They moved back to the province in 1976 and Bill became actively involved with the disability community becoming a member of the Hub, Wheelchair Sports and the Consumer Organization of Disabled People, Canadian Paraplegic Association, Independent Living Resource Centre and various Committees. He had a long work history with the Hub from its’ early beginnings as night security guard to eventually managing and operating the trophy shop and selling rehabilitation equipment. He became a very active member of the Wheelchair Sports Association and represented Newfoundland & Labrador on many occasions beginning in 1977 at the Canadian Games for the Physically Disabled in Edmonton. He competed in weightlifting and basketball and held provincial records in weightlifting.
Bill loved travelling, the outdoors, trouting, and spending time with his family & friends and he was a collector. His home and business were a testimony to this passion containing shelves of 8 track tapes, LP albums, cassette tapes, bottles, lapel pins, hats, photographs and a variety of other items too numerous too mention.
He also loved old cars and at one time owned a 1955 Ford which was his ‘pride and joy’. When he lived in Toronto he regularly traveled to car shows on weekends. When he moved back to St. John’s he would seek out car shows on the island. He purchased a home in Bay Bulls Big Pond in the Goulds and the down payment for this house came from the sale of his ‘pride and joy’
Bill loved animals. While living in Goulds he raised a variety of hens which were all very unique and very different than hens I remember from growing up around the bay. Bill had speciality hens and loved tending to them and showing them off to family members and visitors. He was also a dog lover and basically was never without a dog, big or small it didn’t matter he loved them all. His love of horses was well known and in his early years would he travel around the city on a horse and sled and visit his family on Flower Hill. Apparently his Dad could be heard saying “here comes Bill in his Cadillac”. He owned a couple of horses and sold one to purchase an engagement ring for his girlfriend.
He wasn’t perfect but then he didn’t strive to be. He relished a good fight and was first in line to speak out and lobby against government, community or the private sector when barriers to employment, transportation or accessibility were not being addressed. He didn’t write briefs, design comprehensive strategies, develop action plans, or anything similar to these activities. He would look at a situation, identify the problem and say this is what has to be done and why…end of discussion. He travelled around the province taking photographs of Post Offices that were not accessible and he came back with, as Bill would say, “a truck load of pictures”.
Bill typically presented himself as the tough guy and while there were many times and situations in his life when he had to be tough, he was a kind person with a good heart who loved a good joke and was always there to help. His friends will attest to the support he often gave, whether it was a shoulder to lean on, taking someone into his home until they got ‘back on their feet’, fixing equipment for free when someone was in a hard spot, or words of support or encouragement he was there for people in anyway he could.
There were many times in my life I called upon him to get advice when buying a car; brainstorm ideas around disability issues and we frequently discussed the sad situation of accessibility in the province. I valued his friendship immensely; loved his passion for life and always enjoyed a good laugh with him.
Bill’s presence and voice will be missed in the disability community. He cared about disability issues and the community as a whole. He was a strong proponent of integrated services and programs for persons with disabilities. His voice is silent now but the impacts of his advice and guidance lives on. Rest well my friend
William J. Murphy (Murph)
August 23rd. 1948 – June 13, 2006