Cly 8th November 2018

We are so deeply saddened to lose Bill. Mike and I have so many cherished memories of him. My first were of his insight and humour at The Fletcher School all those years ago, in the early 1980s. Then, after I moved to London in 2000, of many evenings together, typically at their home, with Andrea’s beautiful meals, Bill’s generous offer of stunning wines and always a finishing Armagnac, and long evenings which passed far too quickly chatting about politics, music, business…all brightened by Bill’s infectious laughter. Bill and Mike also shared a passion for German history, music and art, further animating these get togethers. In fact, he would probably appreciate that the day of his funeral is an important day of remembrance in Germany, marking the start of the 1918 November revolution, the 1938 Reichskristallnacht, and 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. It was also wonderful to be with Bill and Andrea as a couple and with the girls as a family. I loved joining them (when Arabella was little) for a Fiji trip where we scuba dived together, and we were planning to meet up in Berlin. Bill combined a sharp intellect with a big heart and a ready laugh, especially for the ironic in life, that made spending time with him always a joy. A video from our last evening together, of Bill talking about Rossini, illustrates this spirit I think very well. We will both miss him terribly. The Germans have a special word (also the title of a novel by Goethe), Wahlverwandschaften. It means ‘the family you choose’, in other words, the friends who feel like family. I think this is an appropriate way to say how we feel about Bill, and the Zuckermans. All our love to Bill, and to Andrea, Arabella and Aurelia Cly & Mike