The Story of William Adnett Smith
As told to us by his brother Robert Smith

If Billy were here today, he would understand that the opportunity to have ones name placed upon this memorial is not only an honour, but he would also recognize that the memorial may help to educate. So that people may understand that strength and courage of those whose names are listed on the memorial.

Billy and myself fought for survival. Starting with, being both kicked out of the house in 1980, at the ages of 14 (Billy) and 15 (myself). We were very close and found ourselves on our own, in desperate times. We both soon realized that we were not going to make it in Prince George by ourselves. That's when we decided to split up and we said our goodbyes. Billy went to San Francisco and I went to Vancouver. He had always wanted to go to San Francisco because he had not been to very many places. He was a dreamer and wanted to travel to exotic destinations. We kept in touch but he was always puzzled about the family's unwillingness to resolve their problems.

In the early 80's, he contacted me to say that he would be back soon. I never heard anything from him for a couple of years. One day, I received a phone call from my mother to tell me that Billy was back in town. It seemed like a short celebration because it was cut short with early signs of complications of the disease.

Early 1986, the doctors started testing Billy for anything possible. After a thorough and exhausting examination, they still could not find what was causing his sickness. Myself, I had heard about a new disease sweeping across North America. It was called HIV or AIDS, but I was quite ignorant on the subject. As the dominant male in the family, because there was no real father figure, I requested that Billy be tested for HIV, so that no stone would be left unturned. We needed to be 100% sure, that this new disease had not found its way into our family. Unfortunately, the news we received was bad. Billy had tested positive for HIV. Immediately, my mother broke down, realizing that one of her sons was going to die. Death is a strange thing. When one dies, we go through a period of shock and then mourning. Unlike the scenario we were in, which put us in a mourning state, before death had occurred. The family was unprepared to deal with death. I started to understand the unusual situation we were in. It could not be taken in a negative light. We should be partaking in the opportunity to celebrate what life Billy had left to live.

It took a period of time, for the rest of the family to understand what I was trying to convey to them. Once they understood it was a blessing in disguise. Not many people get to say goodbye to someone they love, before that particular person leaves this earth. That was precisely the opportunity that I was speaking of. At a time when things were unclear, we didn't let confusion stand in our way. We gathered our strength so that we could support Billy in a time of need. We devoted every minute of every day, of every week to him. We did not know when the end would come. We did not want to miss any or all opportunity to be with him.

Tragically, the last thing we did together, was to visit EXPO '86. He soon succumbed to the disease and was hospitalized. Over the next few months, I was extremely shocked by the way the disease had debilitated my brother's frame, from 240 lbs. down to 84 lbs. I knew it was only a matter of days before the end would come. Sadly, October 2, just a few hours after we had been with him, we were notified that he was no longer with us. I couldn't do anything but be strong. Strength sometimes can be broken down when you see a person taken from this earth in such a way. My heart goes out to my brother and anyone who must deal with such an affliction as this.

I hope my story has not saddened you, but in a small way, it has been heard.

"Be brave in your journeys"

William Adnett Smith on the Memorial