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A Tribute to William Epperhart, Jr.
(1948-2000)

A Lifetime of Knowing Bill Epperhart............................

The EHS family was deeply saddened by the passing of our friend & colleague, William Epperhart, Jr. Although Bill only spent a few years with us, his presence made a great impact on all who knew him. Bill was always willing to share his tremendous knowledge of LAN & PC Technology to say nothing of the countless great anecdotes of his time spent in the Broadcast Industry. His eagerness to explain everything in amazing detail served to enhance his fellow workers’ knowledge base.

Bill always had a joke to tell which lightened our often hectic days. But for me, the story of Bill Epperhart goes much further back in time than his days at EHS.

The time was in the late 60's when Bill & I first met as ham operators both living on Long Island. I was WA2COL and Bill was WB2DTY. We would spend hours communicating on the 2 and 15 meter ham bands. We experimented with all types of electronic equipment and performed wonders when the touch tone pad off the telephone became available. Bill was always very meticulous in his designs and craftsmanship and I was always just a "try it and see what happens" kind of guy. Together we always managed to pull the trigger at the right time. We learned much from each other and shared our experiences with many. Some of our old ham friends included WA2YBQ, WA2WAI, WA2DZH, WA2HHZ, WB2BCI, WA2CMW, WB2DNO, and many others. They were our carefree years when we were invincible.

When I went to college at CW Post, Bill & I spent time together yet again when Bill worked at the Post Radio Station, WCWP, with another friend, Bill Mozer. Who would have thought that 20 years later we would all be in the computer business working for Episcopal Health Services. I actually owe my career to Bill as he was the first to introduce me to a computer in 1979 when he purchased the TRS80 Model 1. He called me one day and said "I bought something I think you’ll like so come on over." After spending an hour playing with this great toy I looked at Bill and said "do they pay people to do this?" and his response was "I guess so." The very next day, I called NYU and registered for classes in systems & programming. The rest brought me to where I am today. Thank you Bill.

We lost touch for awhile in the 80's but in the early 90's we hooked up again when we both found out that each of us had moved to Brooklyn only 15 minutes from each other. We again started our often nightly chats on 2 meters (Ham Radio Band) where we discussed all the latest in radios, computers, and countless other interests we’d shared over a lifetime.

I remember the day he got the job working on the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He was so excited especially when he got to fly on the Concorde SST.

I remember how very proud he was of his early TV and Radio days. He was incredibly skillful at it. I used to go to the various ABC & NBC studios with him & watch him work and get the inside tour as his guest.

I remember when his brother became ill and eventually passed away.

I remember his parents when I was a teen and I remember when they passed on.

I remember when his son, Danny, was born.

I remember him helping me put up my radio tower.

I remember ... I remember ... I remember ...

I remember the last conversation we had about a week before Bill died. I spent thousands of hours over our lives talking to Bill and I knew that this last one hour conversation would be forever carved in my soul. I knew from his tone that the end was near. However, he was courageous, and we did not focus on his illness but focused on what we had always done before. He told me about his last computer projects. He told me how he finally had bought that new ham radio last summer. He asked me how everyone at EHS was doing. And, as he faded away from the pain killers, he apologized to me for not being able to stay with the conversation. So, I said good bye my friend and I’ll talk to you soon. We both knew that soon was never to come.

As I stood by his coffin, I realized a piece of me had died. I realized our youth and immortality had left and been replaced by life’s harsh realities. So my friend, colleague, and fellow ham operator, may you finally rest in peace as I know you’ve suffered. I will remember you forever and carry on your anecdotes and jokes until I’m gone. Thanks for everything.

WB2DTY [SK] de KE2UK over and out.....................

Ronald A. Tomo
Chief Information Officer
Episcopal Health Services Inc.

"Those were the days, my friend, We thought they'd never end ... "

For those of you who are interested, there is also a tribute to Bill Epperhart on the MusicRadio 77 WABC Home Page, where Bill worked for many years as an engineer.

You can also read about his time at WABC by following this link to the MusicRadio 77 WABC Bill Epperhart Page.

WEBMASTER

Ronald A. Tomo
MPA/CCP/CNA
Chief Information Officer
rtomo@ehs.org

WEBMASTER

Greg Sarica
PC Specialist


gsarica@ehs.org