Sometimes we encounter people in our lives who just make our day better. You may not know how they positively affect your day, you just know that they do.
Bill Hestwood was one of those people. He would sit quietly doing his work, but he’d smile when you looked at him. He’d toil around in his files, answer his phone, sometimes gently grumble at his computer, but then someone would walk in the door, and in his booming voice, say, “Howdy, Bub!”
Everyone was Bill’s friend. It was hard to not be. He made it easy to like him. Through reflection this week, it became more evident why.
He just “was.” He didn’t try to be positive and optimistic, he just was. He didn’t try to be helpful and available to our agents, he just was. He didn’t join Kiwanis because it would help his business. He didn’t referee because it would land him clients. He didn’t golf or play bridge for the networking opportunities.
His involvement with his community, colleagues, family and friends was because he thoroughly enjoyed doing those things. There was no hidden agenda, no ulterior motive. He was there simply because he wanted to be. He was happy. He just was.
Many times over the years, we’ve turned to him for help. It may have been helping a new agent with paperwork, attending a closing, or seeking advice. He would never flaunt his knowledge or his experience, but it exuded from him in a quietly confident kind of way.
And for us, knowing he had over 50 years in the business and was still going strong with writing contracts, showing houses… still making a go of it… we felt comforted somehow. He made us feel like we would make it, too. To be in his presence felt reassuring, but not on a conscious level. He just had a way of lifting a room by merely being in it.
Bill taught us a lot about what living a good life should be, even though like everything else, he never talked about it. He led through example. He would call Jan on the phone while at work just to check in with her. It didn’t matter that he had just seen her, or that he would be home soon, he wanted to talk to her. His love for her radiated through him.
He was also so proud of his children and grandchildren. He absolutely loved seeing them, sometimes driving hours just to catch a quick game. He would come in on Mondays to tell us about fishing or hunting with “Son Jeffrey” that weekend. Or how the grand kids performed in their latest event.
I never heard him say the words “I can’t”, and he very rarely complained. He was the hardest worker during our office Earth Day Clean-Up, refusing to quit until the job was done. He’d come in dirty and dripping wet from placing flags in bad weather, say “How are you this fine afternoon?”, and get right to work on his deals.
He taught us to never stop learning and growing. He was the only person in our office who showed zero fear about doing Facebook Live, and not only did he do it without hesitation, but he crushed it. Technology wasn’t his friend, but he figured out a way to get along, happily writing his first Facebook comment just a few weeks ago.
I once asked him on a frustrating day how he managed to stay in this business for as long as he had, how he dealt with the ups and downs, the frustrations, and unkind people, and he said, “Well, Sunshine, you just do.”
And this is how Bill lived his life. No matter what came his way, he was always moving forward, looking ahead, seeing the positive, the happiness, and the genuine. Sure he had rough times, but he didn’t dwell on them. They didn’t keep him down. He just kept going, rising above, and being the best he could be. He didn’t teach this to all of us through lecturing, he taught this through living. And live he did.
We will miss you, Bill. Job well done, our friend.
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