Billy Daniel had transferred in from Butler our Senior year when his folks moved. He and I were friendly but never spent much time together away from school. We were lab partners in Chemistry, so we got to talk a lot. Billy was a good guy. That beautiful black 57 Chevy was his baby - at least, he treated the car like it was a baby. He missed a turn that night and slid the Chevy sideways into a telephone pole. The crash killed him but barely injured his 3 passengers, The church was overflowing at his funeral - students from both schools were there. His casket was closed.
About all I can say is that the funeral was not an uplifting occasion. We were all kids, 17-18 years old - we were not supposed to die at that age. I have thought about Billy over the years whenever I had to go to a funeral or when I took note of the date. That date was February 13. So, here's to you, Billy, on this St. Valentine's Day Eve. You missed a lot, both good and bad. Can you believe that happened 57 years ago?
Noel Buffington (Buffington)
Billy Daniel had transferred in from Butler our Senior year when his folks moved. He and I were friendly but never spent much time together away from school. We were lab partners in Chemistry, so we got to talk a lot. Billy was a good guy. That beautiful black 57 Chevy was his baby - at least, he treated the car like it was a baby. He missed a turn that night and slid the Chevy sideways into a telephone pole. The crash killed him but barely injured his 3 passengers, The church was overflowing at his funeral - students from both schools were there. His casket was closed.
About all I can say is that the funeral was not an uplifting occasion. We were all kids, 17-18 years old - we were not supposed to die at that age. I have thought about Billy over the years whenever I had to go to a funeral or when I took note of the date. That date was February 13. So, here's to you, Billy, on this St. Valentine's Day Eve. You missed a lot, both good and bad. Can you believe that happened 57 years ago?