I received this email from Bill this morning. A lot us know Bill personally, and a lot of us know Bill by his wit & wisdom via this forum.

Our prayers are with Bill and his daughter, Cathren, during this time of grieving.

Paulette Rudat Oxner, born June 9, 1940. Died April 24, 2013.

I married up. The first thing Paulette said when she got her prognosis was, "I'm so sorry to put you and Cathy (our daughter) through this." I had planned to write more about the beautiful person she was, but words fail me. Our friend Lorelei Sullivan expressed it well in a letter she wrote to Paulette last week. She wrote, "My bright and beautiful friend who loves books and animals, who is kind and generous to a fault is leaving us. She wants nothing from me and it is breaking my heart.

We talked about how you wanted the end to be and I respect your choices. I only wish you could know how many lives you have touched, how much you are loved, how many prayers have been said, how many tears have been shed because you are you. I miss you my treasured friend. I will always miss you."

I've always been skeptical of angels and spirits, but I assure you part of Paulette will live with me the rest of my life, and part of me died with her.

There will be no obituary. She died from complications of cancer. She is being cremated without ceremony. Consider this information public and pass on as you see fit. Our computer crashed and we lost all of our email addresses. We've only added them as we received emails from you. Please do not immediately reply with condolences, or bring anymore food by.

Paulette made me really proud when she was at her best. She made me even prouder when she was at her worst. Bill Oxner