HOUSTON — Rosenberg resident and veteran Bill Boyd has spent the last year learning a new skill.
After losing his wife Doris two years ago, the 93-year-old has been on a journey to fill the void of her loss. They were married for over 70 years.
“She’s the most perfect person I ever saw," Boyd said. “She was a country girl…I did a double-take and said I’ve got to meet her.
The key for Bill to keep going has been the keys on the Baldwin piano in his entry.
“The musical notes and the sound of music helps you relax," Boyd said.
What started with his grandkids buying him a keyboard turned into a mission to continue to fill his life with purpose.
“It’s so beautiful. And just to hear what he’s done...I’m just so proud of him," says his daughter Barbara Kettler.
This is not Boyd's first mission though.
“I was in the Merchant Marines. I served in the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean, that area," Boyd said.
He served during WWII. Merchant Marines, often referred to as America’s Forgotten Heroes, had to wait some 40 years to be recognized as veterans.
He remembers the moment he was.
“I wept because I’m a veteran now," says Boyd.
Maybe that’s why his generation is known as the “Greatest Generation.” Because of their dedication, conviction and most of all their perseverance.
“He always says we have to try and overcome. We have to be overcomers," Kettler says.
The piano has helped him continue to do just that. The music he plays continues to fill the space that’s been left.