The Rev. William Lover would have recognized the church and many of the Conimicut villagers and parishioners who attended his memorial service Saturday and yet a lot would have been new to him.

The church where he served as pastor from 1972 to 1999, Woodbury Union Church Presbyterian burned on Thanksgiving eve 2018. It operated for two years from nearby St. Benedict’s until rebuilt where it stood for 110 years at the corner of West Shore Road and Beach Avenue. In many ways the new church resembles the one that burned. The brilliant stained glass window above the alter was saved from the flames and now, as before the light pours in from windows lining the walls.

Bill was remembered as a pastor who tended his flock and reached beyond church walls to bring together the community as vividly told in the photographs and newspaper clippings assembled by his daughter, Cindy Lover. The headlines tell of Bill’s involvement in founding the Conimicut Village Association, the annual Labor Day festival and finding a home for Friends Way, the bereavement organization now based in the former church fellowship hall diagonally across from the church. As his son, Andrew, said his father not only brought community together but as importantly formed communities.

Personal recollections, however, painted the most intimate picture of the tall, thin dark haired man who rarely was without a collar. That’s not to suggest he was preachy or unapproachable. He wasn’t.

Parishioners described times where Bill was there to help fix a pickup truck, console them at time of need or deliver a candy bar when laid up in the hospital for a couple of days.

“He was with us every day, it was unbelievable to have that kind on strength,” said Jim Praski  whose daughter, Amy Beth, lost her battle to brain cancer on Oct. 2, 1997. “He brought the holy spirit into our lives and others.”

Praski told of Amy’s prolonged battle, doing everything they could to save her from medical treatments to faith healers. He told of going to the Roman Catholic Church of Rev. Ralph DiOrio in Worchester. He said people walked out of the church healed and that while Amy could not make the trip – she was in Hasbro Hospital -  Jim and his wife Karen could see remarkable improvements from his prayer.

Jim said Bill told him, “’you have to tell her it’s okay to die.’”

Jim said it was hard to find the courage to do that.

On her final day with family around her, Jim said Amy who had shown no signs of life woke up all of a sudden and looking at the assembly whispered ‘thank you’ and died. Silence fell over the room and looking out the windows they saw the form of a cross in the clouds and a rainbow.

The burial was held at Quidnessett Memorial Cemetery. Praski recalled Bill’s homily and how he used the imagery of a train to describe life with stops along the way. As the service came to a close,  those gathered could hear the chugging of an approaching train from a nearby railroad track, an appropriate closing.

The Praskis lost  their son on the tenth anniversary of Amy’s death.

“While I never met Bill, I stand in this pulpit today as someone who feels his love and his energy. There are many here who remember his ministry and the many ways that he worked in this community to bring about change,” the Rev. Deborah Packard said in her pastoral reflections.

“ Through the tragic deaths of two children in the Praski family, Bill was motivated to search, with his daughter, Cindy, for a way to bring help to grieving families. When you go out the front door of this church you can see the results of his work when you look at the building that now houses Friends Way, a family bereavement center. The creation of the Conimicut Village Association was brought about because of his love for this community and his belief that it could become a safe neighborhood. Choir members today can still recall what his favorite hymns were! One strong memory shared by many here was his love of post-it notes! Apparently, they could be found stuck all over the church.”

She continued, “We gather here today to see Bill off on his new journey. Through our good-byes, we remember that he lived. We remember that for his 79 years his life did matter to those of you gathered here. In that time many memories were created.”

Rev. Wiliam Lover died at his Gainesville, Virginia home on n October 1, 2023. He was the husband of Jackie Lover. Bill was born in Buffalo, NY on January 1, 1944. He is survived by his two children: Cynthia Lover and her two sons Joshua and Zachary, and his son, Andrew Lover, his wife Leontine, and their daughter Annalina. Bill is survived by three stepdaughters: Kristin Kahl, and her husband CJ Currier, Karen Mullen and her husband Shawn Mullen and sons Aiden and Brady, Debbie Kahl and her wife Suzanna Smaldone, and children Robert, Caitlin, Kiera, and Kevin.