A well-liked adult Webmaster's suicide toward the end of last week had the adult Web community still in shock days after his death became known around the community.
"The world is a lesser place without him, and so are we all," said Pixmasters Webmaster Roscoe of WillyB, who died after hanging himself at 4:30 a.m. October 3. He was 39 years old.
"WillyB was a fantastic person," said Bratt, the AVS advisor for Adult Net Surprise, to whom WillyB was most familiarly bound as a Webmaster. "He always helped anyone that needed it, and was always there to make me laugh."
One webmaster told AVN Online that WillyB was troubled by serious financial worries, after leaving Adult Net Surprise a year ago to pursue other opportunities which didn't work out as he had hoped they would do. But they also said WillyB had been in the chatroom during the ANS Thurs Night Party and enjoyed himself immensely enough.
"I have no idea what may have caused Willy to do what he did," said "Officer" Jeff K. of Cybererotica, "but I do know that nothing is so bad that an extreme ending like that needs to be played out. I just don't understand why, I guess no one ever really will."
"(He was) one of the sweetest and most caring friends that anyone could ever have," said RatedHot.com owner Marsha Youngs. "He always made you feel welcome and he treated everyone like a friend. The work that he did with Adult Net Surprise will always be remembered. Angel hugs, Willy."
Everyone said WillyB's best qualities included his humor and his eagerness to help new adult Webmasters and other adult Internet workers.
"Willy was one of the first people that helped me when I came to Adult Net Surprise," said Bratt, whose boyfriend, Kre8tor, is now ANS's operations manager and credits WillyB with helping him fit in at ANS when he first joined the company. "He always made the chatroom a comfortable place for newbies and a fun place for all veterans to be. He was always willing to help in any way he could.
"I got the honor of meeting WillyB on my way moving from Iowa to Florida a year and a half ago," she continued. "The circumstances weren't the best, as he was in the hospital when I met him. Even then, he was making jokes and laughing. Then he even took me into his home and let me spend the night there on my trip down. Willy was always there for his friends, and very protective of those closest to him…I am proud to be able to call him a friend."
Mishi said WillyB made Thursday nights in the ANS chat areas a night that "replaced what used to be weekends – a time to gather among friends and share a lot of laughs." Kre8tor also said Willy made people feel at home in the adult Internet and was an especially loyal and affectionate friend.
"Last January, Venturi, DesertLover, and I made the trek from Phoenix to Vegas for Internest 2003, our first Internext," Mishi said. "Along the way we stopped in to visit WillyB, Dora, and the kids. They fed us sandwiches and soda and much wonderful conversation and friendship. As great as Internext was, I will always cherish hanging out with WillyB and DoraP as one of the greatest highlights of that trip."
Sin-Text's Raven, who served as matron of honour for WillyB's wedding to his wife , DoraP, said he was known particularly for his ability to make people laugh when they most needed to blow off stress, such as doing admittedly awful singing of rock group AC/DC material on Internet radio and live chats.
"Everyone in the room was making jokes and laughing uproariously," she said, "and I was afraid they would hurt his feelings, had he known what they were saying. It was later that I found out he knew, and did this for our pleasure, to give us some relief…His chatroom antics were always good for a laugh. And some of our private conversations were profoundly deep. He was always curious about the stars and the heavens and astrology. (He was) a very bright man."
He was also, Raven added, very protective of people he liked. "In Chicago, Willy protected me from someone I didn't want to be with," she said, offering no further detail. "That's the WillyB I know and love."
In the last months of his life, WillyB apparently took up a passion for creating landscapes with modeling software. "I hope he created a place of incredible beauty and wonder where he can be happy," Raven said. "He is a delightful spirit, with an amazing ability to bring joy to others. I hope he has found joy for himself."
Venturi said WillyB was one of the first people in the adult Internet to give guidance and assistance in getting a business or a project up and running. "He was a workhorse…and it didn't take long before I began to consider him a true friend," said Venturi, who works mostly freelance these days. "Eventually, we worked on a few projects together and it was a pleasure working side by side with him."
He, too, felt WillyB made Thursday night the night of the week on the ANS boards. "His antics…with the 'stylin' tunes of WillyBCDC may have hurt my ears, but they made me laugh," Venturi said, "and he was instrumental in making these evenings the best damned place to blow off steam once a week for hundreds of Webmasters."
"WillyB was a great co-worker and then one of my best friends," said Kre8tor. "I could always count on him to brighten the bad days, and he was the first to give you a pat on the back on the good days. He helped so many in this business from our little hole in the wall chatroom and never asked for anything in return. He was a very smart man who you could talk to for hours on many subjects."
WillyB's wit even extended to the local power company. "He decided to send an invoice to the power company to 'process' their bill," Kre8tor said. "His comment about it was, 'Everybody can charge me processing fees, why can't I?!?' He had me almost pissing my pants, but at the same time he was right in his own way. That will be the WillyB I will always remember. Rock on, bro!"
TwiceShy of TheKinkDirectory.com offered a poem in tribute to WillyB:
In life we shall always share
Thoughts of you and whisper soft
We will always feel you near
Days may swiftly come and go
But in our hearts you stay
Memories that will linger on
Are never far away
Walk in peace with special prayers
That come with Friendships love
Tears may fall upon us now
The sun still shines above
Tenderly we hold you close
With friendship that can't compare
When we turn around we see your face
You're glow forever there.
In addition to his wife, WillyB is survived by his two children and his parents. Funeral arrangements at this writing were said to be pending in Mount Vernon, Illinois.
