Crossing guard leaves legacy of kindness

What William A. Blackburn meant to our community is bigger than words. We at Raritan Valley School on Cresci Boulevard in Hazlet will miss him deeply. Just wanted to share a story about Bill and what he means to my family.

He was "Bill" to us, and it was always "Good morning, Bill." We met Bill when my son started kindergarten. His name is Zachary and he is now in the fourth grade. Since we live on Cresci Boulevard - the same side as the school - we walked almost every day. My son would always ask if we could cross the street, so when we would get to the school, Bill would have to hold up his "Stop" sign and cross us again. This would go on for the year.

Then my daughter Emily came along, and every day would see Bill. When she was 3 years old, she insisted that Bill be on her Christmas list and we needed to get him ear muffs. At such a young age, she knew that if it was cold and rain, sleet or snow, Bill was outside crossing the children. We did get Bill the ear muffs, and she wrapped them herself. Bill did get the ear muffs, and from that day on, he knew her name and would say "Good morning, Emily. You look so pretty today." She would smile from ear to ear. And we would say "Good morning, Bill." Some days she would play hard to get, but the smile she gave him was enough. Now my son Christian, now 3 years old, sitting in his stroller, would also get to say good morning to Bill.

On the morning Bill passed, we were running late, so we drove to school that day. We did not get to say good morning to Bill, but I did give a wave. That afternoon, her dad picked her up from school. She ran in the house and said Bill was not at the school. She said, "A lady was at the school with Bill's stop sign, blowing a whistle." I was not sure how to respond except to say, "Maybe Bill just took the day off."

The following day in the school yard, I heard that Bill had passed away. I was filled with sadness. Emily came out of school, and this time she noticed a man crossing the children and it was not Bill. When we got home, I explained to her that Bill had passed away and he is with the angels in Heaven with her Pop-Pop. She cried at first and started to draw a picture for Bill. Of course, it was a great big stop sign with him smiling and the sun shining. I said to her, "That is a great picture and a great memory of Bill." She then said, "I'm not sad anymore because I know Bill will take care of Otis (her dog passed one year ago) while he is in Heaven."

We will miss you, Bill.

The Valenzano family

Hazlet