Bill Bio by Noah

A Life Well Lived
By Noah Walden

What is the measure of a life well lived? It is not in years, which are often wasted by those who receive many. Nor can it be measured by possessions, they are temporal and no guarantee of happiness. And certainly the money saved in a lifetime bears no relation to the grief expressed upon one’s departure.
The qualities which truly contribute to the greatness of a human’s life are less quantifiable yet evident nonetheless. The love and loyalty one shared, the laughter a person generated and enjoyed, the dreams brought to fruition, the passion to enjoy each day; these are the elements from which a successful life is wrought. And, by these measurements, one of the most successful lives ever lived came to an end on Tuesday, January 13th when William Kozlowski passed away.
“Bill was a warm, fuzzy, welcoming friend,” said close friend Jill Taylor. “Unimaginable things seemed to happen to him and being near him was amazing.”
Bill was raised in Washington State and attended the Evergreen State College, where he studied music and sound engineering. He was a longtime fixture in the Olympia music scene as the singer, songwriter, guitarist and saxophone player for such bands as Brave New World and Storming Rosetta.
The characteristics for which he will be remembered, the confidence, inner strength, humor, empathy and intelligence, were already clearly evident by his mid-twenties. By this time, too, it was obvious that Bill had the innate ability to bring people together. He collected a fantastic group of people with whom he could share his wisdom, philosophy and laughter. Physically he was remarkable for his sharp blue eyes which flashed with intelligence and wit, and a smile that was comforting and huge. He had a fantastic, nasal laugh and a bizarre, twisted sense of humor which he frequently displayed.
“He was the deepest person I ever knew,” said his mother-in-law, Bonnie Kaden. “But he was not only profound, he was profoundly silly.”
Bill was a big fish in the small pond of Juneau . A vibrant artist, musician, producer and businessman, he arrived there in 1996 and rapidly moved forward with a vision of what the town could be. With his band, Peabody ’s Monster, Bill invigorated the scene with what was at the time the only original rock music in town. He formed a label, Rock Alaska Records, with the intention of spurring not only the fledgling Juneau scene, but that of the rest of Alaska as well. From their offices on Franklin , Rock Alaska Records gave life to numerous bands and released compendiums of music from throughout the state.
In 1996 he married his longtime girlfriend, Sierra Kaden. Dozens of people trekked from Alaska and Washington to San Miguel De Allende, Mexico for the ceremony. The attendees’ ensuing journey thru central Mexico is the stuff of legends, and those who joined it were forever changed for the better by being there. Friend Nate Buck remembers it fondly as “images of hot spring fed rivers, castles in the jungle, buses to nowhere, and a group of friends whose lives are so inexplicably intertwined that it’s difficult to judge where one stops and another begins.”
Bill was many things to many people but there is no way to describe him without describing the disease with which he lived. Bill was born with Type III Von Willebrand’s Syndrome, a severe form of hemophilia. The resultant bleeds would sap his strength and often left him in severe pain. Cartilage deterioration in his ankles hobbled him in his early twenties and he endured 17 surgeries on them. Eventually the ankles were fused, which allowed him to live in less pain but severely restricted his mobility. Bill became a strident medical marijuana activist and testified before the state senate for this cause. His hemophilia led to numerous other complications and eventually resulted in the heart attack which took his life at age 32.
Bill was long aware of his physical fragility and he compensated for it with an inexorable mental tenacity. Realizing that his days might be numbered, Bill went after each one with a drive and passion few have. He pushed those around him to succeed, often using a quick wit and occasionally acrid tongue to lash others into action. He believed in his own greatness, and demanded the same from his friends. He taught all those around him that life is fleeting without ever having to say the words.
It was his disability, too, which led to his greatest triumph. In the past two years, with the help of partner Bret Connell , Bill developed a system by which people with disabilities could communicate with their employers and care givers. These products have the potential to change the lives of millions of people in America and beyond.
There are no words to describe the life Bill Kozlowski lived as vividly as the ones that follow. They are from a letter to Bill written by his widow in the days following his passing:
Billy,
I have spent the last three days since you left us laughing (and crying) but mostly my cheeks hurt from smiling, thinking of you, Billy. You have taught us all so much. You left with no regrets. You told everybody that you loved them. You let everybody know what you were thinking. You are truly the only person that I have ever known that did exactly what he said he was going to do (no matter how f***** up an idea it was). Not many people leave this world having said everything they needed to.
When I was 18 I saw you and you looked a little different from the rest.
When I was 19 you convinced me to take off all my clothes and walk with you naked down a 1/ 4 mile dock. We got caught… and it was funny.
When I was 19 you convinced me to sing with you and you never told me how truly lousy my voice is.
When I was 20 you picked me up after class on Friday and we drove 2,000 miles before classes started on Monday.
When I was 21 you asked me to marry you and I said no because you loved too much and too deeply. How silly is that, Billy?
But when I was 22, you offered my father two pigs and a goat. (It’s true!)
When I was 23 we spent the night in a whore house because you didn’t know what else to do…. One week later I married you.
I can’t really recall what has happened since. But now it has been 11 years. Not a single day has gone by without laughter.