MEMORIES OF BILL

CHILDHOOD:
Most of my earliest memories are of summers at Carter Lake. I can remember living in a tent and sleeping on a cot on the west shore. I was very young and my mother was always surprised that I could remember those days at all. My father was building the cabin with his own hands. Carter Lake was a wild and unpopulated area and its rolling foothills and semi-arid environment captured our souls.
In the early days at Carter we did not have a telephone or a television. My sister and mother and I were isolated in a remote and untamed place. My father would not drive from the city every night and would come only twice a week and on weekends. There was no I25 north out of Denver in the early sixties and so it was too far for a daily commute. On the week nights Kristie and I knew Dad was coming we would sit and look out across the lake watching for his car to cross Damn number 2. I can remember waiting for what seemed like hours, we both worshipped my father. Finally around sunset we’d see his car crossing the Damn and run down to the bottom of the hill to meet him, so happy and excited about his arrival. He would tickle us and play with us and he was always so loving and fun.
Sailing was what the adults did on the weekends in the sixties at Carter. The Star Boats were kept on mornings all summer and launched with an antique 1932 Busyrus Erie Crane, my father bought.
Bill pretty much dominated the Starboat races in those days and won almost every regatta: The Carter Lake Open was a big event in the sixties and often there would be over 100 boats racing and at least 10 different one design fleets.
Gramps Kieser would throw these crazy Lemonade Parties every Sunday after the races. Dehydrated sailors got pretty drunk, but back then there was not much traffic. Gramps was affectionately called “Coach” by everyone.
Lots of Kids around on the weekends made life fun, but during the week Kristie and I were alone and playing only with each other. We learned to love nature and embraced it and never thought of ourselves as city kids. Carter was our true home even though we spent 9 months a year in Denver. Bill and Lynn made life fun and the family was loving and happy. Krisite and I grew up like untamed weeds.
Bill was always tinkering with wooden Starboats, painting, varnishing, sanding and rigging. I would often ask him what he was doing and the reply was always the same “making snake pants”. He liked to have mechanical projects and was knowledgeable and skilled at fixing things. He even knew how to fix that old crane.
Those childhood summer days at Carter were the happiest in all of our lives. Later in Junior High School Dad bought Kristie and I Sunfish and we learned to sail and race. After winning the Colorado Junior Sunfish Regatta Dad graduated me to my own Starboat and I was the youngest skipper in the fleet at 17. Kristie became Dad’s permanent crew. Some of the most exciting and fun times were traveling to regattas at Lake Alcova, in Wyoming and later Lake Dillon.
There were many families involved in racing Stars at Carter. The Jeagers, Hildners, Atkinsons, Kasches and McGanns, many others came and went but this was the core group in the sixties and early seventies. Life was sweet and fun and exciting and carefree!
ADULT
Throughout my adult life my father was always there for me. From serious climbing injuries, romantic break ups and a divorce to business support ,he helped me along. Never once criticizing me or pushing me to be someone different than who I was. Bill was the best father imaginable and he loved me unconditionally my entire life.
Later, with encouragement from my mother he embraced mountain climbing and a more adventurous life. Family trips to The Galapagos Islands and Africa are especially endearing. Our first climb together of Gannett Peak, the highest in Wyoming brought us closer than ever before. His yodel entertained all of us throughout his life. I will always remember my father as an eternal optimist, who was unfathomably positive and a deeply happy man.
In the last five years of his life he slowly declined into dementia, and I thank god I was here for him, living in his home and giving him my daily care and love, Encouraging him to stay strong through dog walks and working out at the gym with a personal trainer. Bill fought hard, remained positive and never accepted defeat right up to the end of his life.
The world is a better place because of Bill Kieser. Many people’s lives were changed for the better because of him. Bill was a man of a million smiles and being born his son was a priceless gift. Goodbye my loving father, I miss you so much!