Good Neighbors

Our dear neighbor Bill Hulen died at the age of 82. Bill and his wife, Sharon, lived next door for 30 years. We moved to our small farm in 1987 and realized quickly that Bill and Sharon were kind, generous, and understanding. Bill helped us get into the sheep business. When we went on vacation he fed our sheep. When we were busy lambing he came over several times a day to offer help. Bill and Sharon loved to garden and shared all their produce with us. Bill’s fruit and vegetables were extremely good. The best thing Bill and Sharon did for our family was spend time with our three children. Our kids knew they could walk over there if they wanted to talk. “I’m going over to Bill and Sharon’s,” they would say, often after they got into trouble or felt sad. I’m not sure what they talked about over there, but it always helped. Bill was a retired high school teacher and coach. He knew what he was doing. Our oldest son summed it up best, “Bill was the nicest neighbor anyone could ask for. It meant a lot that he was always there for our family, whether that was to lend a hand with the sheep or listen to my stories — as a child and as an adult.” Good neighbors are better than gold.