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In his youth, Billy was a hard-working young man. He took pride in his work.
I landscaped with him and my best friend David Kidd. We worked for Chick Weber of Bayport. We did lawns of homes in Sayville, Bayport and Bluepoint.
Raynor and D’Andrea funeral home, where Billy’s viewing was held, had to shut down other rooms in order to make room for Billy’s viewing to take place. There were a lot of friends from Iona College who came by bus load to see him.
There was a mention of Billy at the Iona College graduation ceremony, which would have been Billy’s last day in college. Among the alumni present was George Steinbrenner, one of the most famous Iona alumni!
Upon hearing what tragically happened to Billy, Mr. Steinbrenner approached us. Mr. Steinbrenner invited our family to be his guests and to visit the New York Yankees. Phil Rizzuto called us a couple of days later. The call was answered by my younger brother, Brian, who thought it was a joke and hung up. Phil Rizzuto called back. I answered this time and put my father on the phone to make the arrangements. They sent a limo to pick us up.
We met all the Yankees! It was old timers day, so we got to meet all the older Yankees, too.
I will remember this day for the rest of my life.
Billy was a young man to remember and I very much appreciate the Sayville Alumni Association doing so. -Michael Slavik
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