We were living in Murrysville, PA near Pittsburgh as Labor Day 1994 approached. When a local 10K in which I had raced on 15 consecutive Labor Days was cancelled, we decided to travel to Rochester to visit my wife's sister and family. I asked my sister-in-law to try to find a race in the Rochester area. Although she was unsuccessful, one of her teacher friends said she had heard of a group called the Oven Door Runners that met at the Oven Door Bakery at the ungodly hour of 6:30 AM. I dragged myself out of bed that Saturday morning and found my way to Bushnell Basin, where I met Bill and was instantly invited to join the group. Bill had a unique gift of making everyone he met feel welcome and special, as if they were a lifelong friend. Amazingly, it was absolutely genuine, he really cared about people! Labor Day in Rochester became an annual event, as did running and socializing with the ODR. In 1996 we moved across Pennsylvania to Allentown. Over the years I ran with the ODR group on many occasions, including several of the annual Christmas/Awards parties, and was always happy to see Bill, especially. My many trips to Rochester were greatly enhanced, because I could always go "play" with my ODR friends.
His enthusiasm, zest for life, gregarious nature and natural leadership abilities were inspirational. In addition, his organizational skills, constant good humor and fun-loving attitude contributed greatly to making the ODR such a wonderful ad hoc group. In addition, Bill was obviously intelligent and multi-talented. In summary, he was an "ordinary" person with "extraordinary" gifts that had a tremendous impact upon everyone he met. I will certainly miss him.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to travel to Rochester since Labor Day 2006 because of my 93 year old mother's health issues, but I consider Rochester to be my second home because of family connections, including the extended ODR "family".
With fond memories of Bill Hearne,
Richard Baldock, ODR ~ PA Connection
Allentown, PA
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