The Billy Memorial
Listen more often to things than to beings
'Tis the ancestors' breath when the fire’s voice is heard
'Tis the ancestors' breath in the voice of the water
- Birago Diop
Billy Gatherings are so ‘present tense.’ We gather, we leave, ebb and flow. Over time, it’s inevitable that our memories of Billys now gone have begun to fade. We forget a name, but remember a face; remember a moment but forget what he looked like. We grieve a loss, but then he becomes history. The combined impact and rapidity of our losses from AIDS at the height of the epidemic was devastating. Even so, the loss of any Billy is a blow to our community.
One way to keep the spirit alive of Billys now gone is in this Memorial Page. We’re a group with a rich history, filled with great personalities of every sort. Even as we evolve together, we don’t want to lose what’s come before. Here, we honor all Billys, those lost to the epidemic or in other ways. And we honor ourselves by keeping our hearts open to what has come before. And for those who have yet to find us, here are the names and faces of those who will be your history one day.
We want to thank so many for their support in putting this together. To name just a few, Mark Weigle, Marcus Borgman, Bill Blackburn, Joe Arcangelini, Terry Brown, Charlie Seltzer, Paul Mueller and the Board, and Mugwort of RadFae.org (many men moved between Billy and Faerie circles). We have worked together as a single unit creating this page and collecting the material for it, and it’s been an honor to have added to the many memorial activities (Mark Weigle’s panel project for example or Joe A’s photo albums) that have happened over the years.
Collecting information for events that have happened, in some instances, over twenty years ago means that there are likely errors and omissions. Please write David at if you have any additions, corrections, updates or pictures. You’ll find an Archive Page that lists everyone. Click on a name and you’ll be taken to an individual’s page. If you encounter a "" symbol, this indicates that either the information is incomplete or missing.
As Beautiful Dove used to say,
Roses from our hearts to yours,
Chris Lombardi and David Grossblat
August, 2016
Our Billy Ancestors

For Billys Who We No Longer Remember
Al Steele
from the earliest Gatherings


Chris Tomlinson


Don Cate


Jack Thompsen


Keith Stotts


Kelly
attended the Manchester Gathering


Kent The Cook


Leo Joseph
Brother Leo


Robert Balchalk
Bobby


Steve Frary


Jeremy Bell


Greg Schultz


Ron Dennett


Will Batten
Wilma
Michael Huddleston
Stan Ward

David McKay


Don McBride


Taliesin
Taliesin


Maurice Legasse
Arthur Wolff
Buzz
John Holick


Bruce Priebe
Vincent Lovato
Jason Barrett
Doug DeBeni
Dan Halpern

Marshall Cason

Nymphaea Greenman
Tom Mapp
Shine
Jim Battershill
Richard Drummond Beyer
Michael Sommers
Honeydew
Doug Murphy

Gene Barnes
Portia Manson
Rick Feld
Davey Jones


Paul Pregil
Data Bear


Danny Ross
Eddie Lee
Joshua Schmidt
Gryphon Blackswan
Gryphon Blackswan
Richard Rath
Wade Williams
Daniel Deskins
Brother Daniel Mary Magdalene
Steve Mehall
Richard Locke
Butterfly
Bob Vargas
Louis Pearson

Greg Dubbs
Guy Kitchen
Bob Colella


Richard Bennett


Stephen Hayes
Redwood


Gary Matson
Winfield Scott Mowder
David Stewart
Light Eagle
Ben Hershy
Lee Boynton


Kim Storch
Raven
Pratt Spellman

Steve Fallas
Marty Liebman
David Patrick
Mitch Golden
David Baker
Beautiful Dove
Bill Fugelsang
Michael Redding
Michael Moran
Tom Christensen
Jackson Branum
Hans von Braun

Sanford Lowe
Sandy
Alfred Robinson

Mike Hanna

Paul Schwartz
Stewart Scofield
John Burnside
Wesley Russell
Wessie
Bill Devall
Brian Friedman
Brook Klehm
Tad Crandall
Tad
Alan Hunter

Jon Tadros
Timegiver
Remy Charlip
Bill Brent
John Cwiakala
Jim Hughson
Jack Pilling

Bob Conrad
Goat


Jim Charlesworth


Will Grant

Tom Benson
Brian White
Darrel Johnson
Bill Paskewitz
Carl Minns
Carl Lasagna
Bill Armstrong
Steve Johnson
Jok Church
Rodney Chilton

Robert Fasic
Bob
Stephen O’Connell
Buzz Bense
Gabriel
Bobby Spencer


Paul Connolly
Preston Grant
Brian Haley
Enrique Massa
Quique
David Passmore
Joe Kukulka
Martin Jones
Nicholas DeMara
Nick
Bruce Thompson
Richard Ploe
Riku
Michael Hathaway
Lanz Lowen
Christopher Colorado Jones
Ronald Toby Wiggin
Toby


Danny Rubin
John Guedon
Fabu

Paul Freedman

Matthew Simmons
Peggy L'eggs
Nikos Diaman
Peter Hall
Eric Larson
Cattail
Jim Kramer
