William Loring McMorris III

What a wonderful, classy way to send Loring on his way!! His great smile (and the smell of his 'cherry tabacco' pipe) is firmly imprinted in my memory. Be seeing you soon.

Dearest Bonnie, I have so many wonderful memories of Loring. I remember how he and Don (Kestens's husband) served as bartenders at my wedding. How much fun they made it. I remember how his good humor always made me feel like I was better than I thought I was. He will always hold a spot in my heart. See you on Friday.

Dear Bonnie, Pat Fullerton called and told me about Loring's passing. I'm sending you a big "hug" and know only so well how much you are hurting. He lives in your heart, Bonnie, as Pete lives in mine now. Love, Sharon

Loring was a wonderful person and a great raconteur. Those of us who knew him will miss him greatly. If I ever write a mining engineer into one of my stories, no doubt it will be Loring (who, I'm proud to say, shares three letters with my brother Lor). He exuded the confidence of someone who had worked hard, contributed, and gave it his all...someone who had actually earned his retirement—a man's man...a mining engineer's idea of a mining engineer. He seemed like a man from another time (and was!)...a time when men pulled themselves up by their bootstraps...that generation who helped build this country and made it what it was before lesser men wrecked it. How much of his work fueled things we have today, I wonder. My condolences, Bonnie. I hope this excerpt from Norman Maclean will give you some comfort: "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs."