I got the call from my mother Tuesday night...
‘Just talked to the OldOld Man. Bryce Billings passed away. He didn’t know any more.
I quick-dialed the OldOld Man to check on him. He was sadden but stoic. After 88 years, he knows the ghosts inside him and his peers are getting weary.
After I got off the phone, I made a whiskey & iced tea and had a soft cry.
Bryce Billings was many things to many people.
To the city of Valparaiso, Bryce Billings was a favored son
Bryce was a 1943 VHS grad who went off to Fort Hood (then Camp Hood) to train for the Good War three weeks after graduation. He defeated the original Axis of Evil, came home, went to law school, raised a family, became a respected judge & a member of the Rotary club, and served a term as mayor of Valparaiso. His citizenship earned him recognition and the respect of the city.
To the OldOld Man, Bryce was a childhood friend whose friendship covered 9 decades.
The judge, and the OldOld Man graduated VHS together and entered the draft on the same day. The OldOld Man would tease Bryce of the illustrious college scholarship earned from the Rotary Club - a 50/50 split of the whole $5.00. Decades later, they would go to fish fries in Wanatah on Friday night. Bryce brought the OldOld Man into the men’s weekly breakfast club at Pines Village.
The OldOld Man beams with pride every time he mentions The Judge’s name or tells one of his stories.
To me, Bryce was one of the city’s guardian angels watching over my mother, sister & me
For years, every afternoon Bryce would walk by our house. He was only person I’ve seen in the last 20 years who could rock a Members Only jacket and old-school knee brace. His pace was brisk so as to get a good heart rate going. But if we were outside, he’d stop for a moment to greet us and ask us how we were doing.
From the bench he saw the OldOld Man’s son struggle and eventually succomb to the demons. The loss left my mother alone to raise my sister and me. We had a lot of support and a lot of people looking out for us. People like The Judge. See, Bryce wasn’t walking by our house because Washington St. was critical to his route. Bryce was walking by to check up on us, to make sure the demons he saw didn’t further affect our home.
A hero, a servant, an angel, a friend
Given his humility and sense of duty, we might never fully be able to sort out the impact Bryce Billings had on the generations who have lived in Valparaiso or the generations who will grow up here. What we do know is that if ever there was a template by which all sons and daughters of our fair city should be raised, one that places an emphasis on fairness, respect and loyalty, such a template should be baselined in the essence of Bryce Billings. For not only was Bryce Billings’ life a Valpo Life worth living, his life made it possible for others to live and prosper in Valparaiso.