Richard and Sherry,

Thank you so very much for the card expressing your condolences.  I sincerely
appreciate your caring and concern.

Please accept my apology for not getting the disk to you.  This past week has
been extremely difficult, almost unbearable, as I have had to come to terms
with the reality of Bill's death.  After many sleepless nights, unable to
stop my thoughts in order to allow my body to rest, I have realized how truly
blessed I have been to have the beautiful relationship that I had with Bill,
of how much happiness he brought into my life, and the laughter and happiness
that we shared together.  Even though he is no longer here with me, I had a
beautiful gift that many never experience in their lifetime, and for that, I
will be eternally grateful.

Bill was so supportive of me in all of my endeavors.  He was especially proud
of my skills as a public and motivational speaker.  Over the years, Bill
would accompany me on all of my speaking engagements, always present in the
rear of the room and always projecting his encouragement and his pride.  One
trip that stands out in my memory was when I was invited by Vice President
Gore to address the "Welfare-to-Work" coalition.  After the speech, Bill and
I were given a private, after-hours tour of the White House.  This visit was
during the post -Lewinsky era.  I remember as we toured the Oval Office, I
could see Bill's mind racing as he thought about the many events that had
occurred in that room.  Needless to say, he was not reflecting on history, he
was focusing on "Bill and Monica's Excellent Adventure."

I knew that during Bill's memorial service he would want me to speak for him,
to his family and his friends.  The Saturday of his service, Bill looked over
my shoulder and guided me, as I wrote the most important speech I would ever
deliver in my lifetime.  Since you were unable to be at the service, I wanted
to share Bill's words with you, and the message that he wanted me to convey.

Eulogy
Given By Sherri Carroll
Downtown YMCA
Saturday, June 2, 2001

If you were to ask a hundred people to describe Bill Kuckler, you would
probably receive a hundred different responses.  Bill was so unique, and his
interests were so diverse, that it is difficult to arrive at that "one"
description.

When I think of Billy, two words come to mind, happy and positive.
Regardless of the situation, Billy was always able to discern the positives,
never the negatives.  It was Billy's positive outlook on life that compelled
me to speak today.

For weeks, family, friends and strangers have prayed.  Everyone, everywhere,
praying for a miracle.  As we gather here today, some may be asking why our
prayers were not answered and where was the miracle.  Our prayers were
answered and there were miracles.  That is what I wanted to share with all of
you today.

One word people frequently use to describe Billy is fearless.  It only makes
sense, he was a pilot and a skydiver.  But Billy was not fearless.  He had
one great fear.  He feared that a debilitating injury or an illness would
prevent him from living his life to it's fullest.  For a very brief period of
time Bill allowed his fear to take control of his life.  He stopped
skydiving, he stopped flying.

One evening we were sitting in my living room watching the evening news.  It
was that evening that Bill took control of his fear.  We watched as former
President George Bush celebrated his birthday by jumping out of an airplane.
I looked at Bill and I could see the wheels turning.  He turned to me and
said, "If he can do it, I can do it."  I attempted to call attention to the
fact that President Bush was surrounded by the entire United States Air
Force, but to Billy, that was a very minor detail.

One day in August Billy called me from Deland, Florida, describing his jump
in vivid detail and telling me he had a memento for me to commemorate his
jump.  The memento which hangs in my office reads, "August 15, 1997, Deland,
Florida, 13,500 feet above ground level, Love Billy."  This is inscribed on
front of a bumper sticker that reads "SKYDIVE NAKED."

The following July, he took complete control of his fears.  On July 4th, 1998
Billy turned to me and said, "Baby, take me to the airport.  I'm flying to
Maryland to buy me a plane."

Our prayers were answered, and God granted us a miracle.  Billy never had to
realize his fear, and he lived his life to the fullest.

There were other miracles and other prayers answered.  During the two weeks
while the search continued, we were each given the opportunity to look at
Bill's life, to focus on his strengths and his abilities, and to visit his
soul.  As the days turned into weeks, solemnly and privately we each
remembered Bill in our own way and in our own time.  Those days allowed us
the opportunity to gather today, not to mourn Bill's passing, but to
celebrate his live, his passions and his life.

On Thursday, May 17th a group of people departed Nashville to search for
Bill.  It was a diverse group, some did not know one another, but they were
brought together by a common mission, to find Billy.  Among the group were
Bill's brother-in-law Al, who had known Bill for almost 40 years.  My
daughter Alden, who first met Bill when she was eleven.  Alden's husband
Marc, their friends, Candace, John and Angela.  Finishing out the group were
two people who never knew Bill, my friend and coworker Dan, and Alden's
friend Ford.

When the searchers returned four days later, they each related stories that
made me realize that other miracles had occurred.  They told of the local man
that wanted to join the search, but was unable to walk due to the knee
surgery he had undergone a few days earlier.  Not to be denied, he mounted a
horse and searched the words on horseback.  They told of knocking on the door
of a humble cabin in the mountains, only seeking permission from the owners
to walk their land to search for Bill.  The family that owned the land were
loggers, who knew the woods like the back of their hands.  They immediately
stopped what they were doing, the men joined the search and the women began
preparing food for all the searchers.  While walking their land, they
approached an area where a tree had fallen across a ravine.  This logger, who
didn't know Bill and didn't even know his name, stopped by the tree, attached
steel cleats to his boots, balanced himself and walked atop of the fallen
tree to look over and into the ravine.  What a miracle to know that mankind
is alive and well, and that we truly do care about one another.

This is not the first memorial service to be held honoring Bill Kuckler, in
fact it is the third.  Several of Bill's friends who were unable to join us
today, gathered on Thursday to remember Bill.  The first service took place
last Saturday.  Alden, Marc, John, Angela, Candace and Ford were in the
mountains continuing their search when Bill's plane was discovered.  The
local town's people opened a church to allow the group some privacy and time
alone to remember and pay tribute to Bill.  One by one, they realized that to
truly honor Bill, they needed to be outdoors.  They left the church, climbed
to an observation point, watched paragliders soaring in the air and ate a
Snickers, Bill's favorite candy, in honor of Bill.  At that instant they
entered Bill's soul, they completely understood his love of life, and they
celebrated that they knew him.

As we continue to celebrate Bill's life please remember the positives and be
happy.  That is the tribute that Bill would want from his family and his
friends.

To conclude, I would like to share a scripture from the Song of Solomon,
chapter 3, verse 4.

"I have found the one whom my soul loves."

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