Not just any old guy. Nope, one of Uke's heroes, and the father of GF Diane Davis. "Big" Bill Davis of Portland, OR passed early this morning at home, in his favorite chair, of congestive heart failure.
Bill was a machinist, working on steam locos om the former Delaware and Hudson railroad, D&H, which escaped Conrail only to be controlled by Canadian Pacific. Bill's father was a hogger working for D&H outa the roundhouse in Carbondale, PA. Bill went to work as an apprentice machinist straight after high school.
After a few years Uncle Sam came calling, and he was drafted and sent over to fight Nazis. After WW-II, Bill was one of the first to get an education under the GI bill. He finished his machinist apprentist work, after FIVE full years but left the railroad.
He worked various other jobs, started a business, got married, raised a family, has several grand children... He never forgot D&H though. He and I used to talk about the outfit's operations throughout New Jersey, where he lived for several years after the railroad. He was 94, a WW-II Veteran, a REAL machinist, father of four, grandpa of five, and a hero to many. Uke included.
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Hmm. That address doesnt look right. It looks like the link pointing here was faulty.
