. . . and fond memories
of Bill Widmaier:

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Bill Widmaier possessed a peacefulness that helped ease those around him.
"Billy stayed calm and rarely raised his voice," said friend Michael DeLaura. "He could always be counted on."
On Thursday, Widmaier’s family, friends and former colleagues tried to hold on to some of that tranquillity as they grieved his violent death.
About 200 attended a Funeral Mass at St. Frances Cabrini Church in Fairless Hills for the 65-year-old Widmaier, who was killed in an armored-car shooting and robbery on the morning of Oct. 4.
Widmaier died alongside Joe Alullo, his friend and former colleague in the 7th Police District. The two were servicing an ATM at Wachovia Bank at Bustleton and Bleigh avenues for Loomis, an armored-car company, when Mustafa Ali, 36, of the 3800 block of Woodhaven Road, allegedly shot and killed them.
Alullo was laid to rest on Oct. 9. His wife Donna, daughters Gina, Katie and Lisa, and granddaughter Emma attended Widmaier’s services, which ended with his burial at Our Lady of Grace Cemetery in Middletown.
The Rev. Michael P. McCormac called the guards’ deaths senseless, but added that Widmaier’s family, which includes his wife of 42 years, Joyce, or "Rusty," as most call her, children William and Wednesday — another son, Wayne, died in 2000 — and granddaughter Madison, had no "bitterness, resentment or revenge."
Monsignor Herbert A. Bevard gave his condolences on behalf of Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, as he did at Alullo’s Mass.
"Today, all of us honor him as a fallen hero," Bevard said of Widmaier. "Your husband served so many so well. Now we try to serve you and him in our prayers."
DeLaura eulogized Widmaier as a "content and happy man."
"He was just pure, real substance and stability," he said.
The Kensington native joined the police force in 1966 and retired as a patrolman from the 7th Police District in 1989, after which he quickly began working at Loomis.
As a child, Widmaier enjoyed baseball, which he played as a left-handed pitcher, and fishing off Long Beach Island in New Jersey. Widmaier met his wife in 1957, and the two became a "fun-loving couple" who enjoyed movies and going to the Jersey Shore, DeLaura said. Widmaier’s love of sports stayed with him in fatherhood, when he helped coach his sons’ Little League baseball and Pop Warner football teams and took his daughter skating.
In his adult life, Widmaier spent his time scouring weekend flea markets to bolster his collection of 45s of musicians like Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Almost every Saturday night, the Pepsi- and cashew-loving grandfather watched boxing matches on television with his stepfather, Norman Sinn. Some of Widmaier’s favorite fighters were George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Oscar De La Hoya.
Widmaier had been contemplating retiring from Loomis at the time of his death, his family said. He had turned 65 in January and would have been eligible for Medicare benefits next month.
"Billy was looking forward to spending more time with Rusty and his four-year-old granddaughter," DeLaura said.
DeLaura told guests to think of Widmaier’s compassion and calmness as they struggled to come to terms with his death.
"If we allow more of Billy’s life to impact us than his death, then we will have a little bit more of Billy with us forever," he said. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com