A Genuine Care for People   

Bill had a heart for people and the gift of making and keeping friends. I was privileged that he called me a friend from the early 1970's on.

He had a genuine care for people–and the personal humility that made that possible. He never acted as though he were someone special. He acted as though you were someone special. He treated a young, idealist nobody from Oregon as though I was special. Here's a bit from one of his letters to me:

I spent an evening and a day with Malcolm [Muggeridge] as recently as last December, and think him very special. 

He is coming to New York to do a Firing Line with me in a couple of weeks. It pleases me hugely that he thinks well of me, though no more than it pleases me that you do. (April 27, 1979)

Bill consistently encouraged me in my faith and desire to serve the Lord. He even offered to write a letter of recommendation for me to a graduate program in theology at a top evangelical school. I took him up on it, and one of my treasured possessions is the copy he sent me of that recommendation.

His passing is a loss to the nation, his family, friends and admirers, and to me. I loved Bill Buckley.

C. S. Lewis once wrote that the passing of a friend is a bit like losing a leg. It may not hurt so much after the amputation, but no more mountain walks. I'm already missing those mountain walks.
Terri Williams

03/02 09:36 PM