Bill Austin Comfort Care and Memorial Fund

As we transition this fundraiser from comfort care for Bill, to sadly a memorial fund as of early Friday morning (Oct 9), our hearts go out to Jim, and the rest of Bill's family. I'm at a loss for words at the moment, and I'm not sure when the right time is to post this again on Bill's Facebook page. I do hope we can raise the funds to offer Bill the type of memorial service he deserves, to share stories and give back some of the love and joy he shared so freely. He will be missed, though the memories of those times will remain with us as wonderful reminders of a beautiful soul. I'm leaving the original text for this fundraiser below, knowing of course that as of early morning October 9, 2020, Bill has ended his journey on earth. UPDATE- Bill's memorial service will be Friday, October 16. For hours, mask and crowd gathering protocol, please contact Smith Funeral Home, [phone redacted], or DM me after Monday when I have better information about what's going to happen on Friday. Bill Austin has touched so many lives, it's impossible put into words what he means to so many of us. His kindness, energy, smile and positive attitude have always been hallmarks of his personality. We are all better people for knowing him and loving him. Earlier this year, Bill was met with the diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He bravely fought through multiple chemo treatments, and immunotherapy. His attitude never wavered, his sense of humor intact, his smile ever present. In the past month Bill came to the realization that cancer was going to take him from us unfortunately sooner than later. As I type this, Bill is at home trying to handle the pain while the disease attacks constantly. The most up-to-date message as of today from Jim, Bill's husband, is that Bill does not have long before he passes. Without a steady source of income due to the severity of his illness (as well as Covid of course), funds are lacking to maintain day to day expenses, and there are no reserves nor resources for a proper memorial service like Bill has hoped to have. Right now anyone can call the Smith Funeral Home and Jason or Cathy Smith will take a donation over the phone. Any donations through the funeral home goes directly toward his memorial expenses. Smith Funeral Home [phone redacted] donate directly to the funeral home not only goes directly toward Memorial expenses but also allows donation without having GoFundMe fees deducted. For those wanting to donate for the memorial fund, I encourage you to pursue this route. If you have trouble contacting the funeral home, or if you'd like to contribute toward Bill and Jim's Family expenses, please feel free to donate to this campaign. Of course there's nothing that says you can't do both. Bill's time is short, and he will be sorely missed. I hope we can provide him with a proper goodbye as we say farewell to one of the most special people I've ever met.