"Behind his sparkling eyes and shy smile was a southern gentleman with a big heart and an intellect to match," said a longtime friend of Bill Sabine.

William Sabine III, 59, died August 8, at the Rose Monahan Hospice Residence in Worcester, Massachusetts, after 10 years of living with cancer. He was surrounded by friends in all of the days leading up to his passing.

Bill came to Barre, Massachusetts, in June of 2012, to be a working member of the Insight Meditation Society, working as a carpenter and groundskeeper. His interest in Buddhist meditation developed many years earlier, in Atlanta, where he lived for over thirty years.

Bill was known in Massachusetts to his many friends as a courageous, brilliant, kind and compassionate man, who brought the gift of his love of life to share with all. He bravely lived year after year with reduced physical capacity and this courage combined with his rich intelligence and wit blessed and inspired all who knew him.

His many dear friends in Atlanta, New Jersey and Vermont shared the story of his earlier years with his Massachusetts friends, and the story of a full, richly-lived life became known to all.

Music of all kinds was Bill's passion in life, and the length and breadth of his musical appreciation surprised many of his friends. He played trumpet for many years and when after surgery he could no longer play trumpet, he played the bass guitar.

In his wide-reaching interest, Bill was just as interested in the rhythmic cadence of a Bach piano concerto as he was fond of humming Miles Davis trumpet solos, a friend said. "Bill listened to all kinds of rock and roll, classical and jazz, and first played the trumpet under the direction of Pops Finckel."

Bill moved to Boston in the early seventies to catch the jazz scene, San Francisco, and then down to Atlanta where he made many musical friends, while working days as a stone mason, carpenter, and as a "greens" man at Atlanta Film Studios when he wasn't out making music. At the studios, Bill was responsible for making sure the natural background, the "green" areas, was correct for outdoor scenes.

He was part of a Buddhist fellowship in Atlanta for over a decade before he moved to Massachusetts. He was active in Alcoholics Anonymous since 1991, with 23 years of sobriety, and mentored many others on their path to recovery. To friends he told the story of how, when he was having difficulty giving up drinking, a wonderful friend took him out on a boat for five days, and made him read aloud from AA's "Big Book," for all five days. Bill was converted, and his activity in the 12-step program is what led to his interest in Buddhist studies.

Bill was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1953. His father, the late William Sabine Jr., worked in the city, a grey suit and tie guy. Like many of his generation, he expected the same life for his son Bill and was bewildered when Bill rejected that lifestyle, grew his hair and started to expand his horizons in other directions. Bill's mother, the late Dorothy (Whelchel) Sabine, was a sweet daughter of the south, who doted on Bill and he always spoke with the same lilting drawl as his Mom. For his early schooling, Bill attended the Far Brook School in Short Hills, N.J. Early on, he was a natural athlete who excelled in any kind of sport. Tall, slim and lithe, he was built like a pro hoops player. His friends report that his aim with the ball in his hands was astounding. He skied the same way, mastering forward movement so quickly that he skied backward most of the time. In class he was thoughtful in a retiring way, waiting until the room was quiet before asking a question or volunteering an opinion. He joined a group of high school age kids who founded their own school in 1970.  Under the guidance of headmaster Julian Thompson, now of Bellows Falls, VT, they took a dream of a different kind of high school and turned it into an accredited reality. Thompson was one of several mentors with whom Bill remained in touch throughout his life, including Episcopal priest Robert Morris of South Orange, NJ, with whom Bill began his spiritual journey early in life.

A member of the first graduating class of Changes, Inc. in 1971, Bill was good at keeping friendships alive, and kept in touch, no matter how many miles separated him from former classmates. Bill moved back up north when his parents' health started to decline and stuck around until he buried both Mom and Dad. "It wasn't an easy or quick process by any means. His parents had waited a long time to have children, so Bill was only in his thirties when they passed on, and although his time caring for two terminally ill Alzheimer's patients was trying to say the least, Bill maintained grace under fire," said a friend.

The friend continued:  "Twenty-five years after our high school graduation, the Changes kids got together for a party. Bill came up from Atlanta and spent a lot of time with all his pals, before during and after the big party. It was an event he spoke about often afterward. Time spent with friends was a powerful motivation, as well as something he cherished with all his heart.

"A few years later Billy started showing symptoms of head and neck tissue cancer. He got pretty bad before enough doctors agreed on a diagnosis, but before the worst could happen, the radiation therapy began to work. Treatment in Atlanta left him with lingering symptoms that got better over time, and for a while it seemed like maybe the bad dream would end.

"In 2003, he came up to N.J. for the 50th birthday of another friend, and stuck around the country long enough to go to some of our tractor pulls. Despite being a guy who loved the solitude and silence of a mountain hike, or rock climbing, Bill took to all the smoke and noise at the track like an old hillbilly. He put up with all the irregularities of a N.J. visit with his usual laid back style. When he was leaving, he mentioned that his cancer wasn't in remission anymore. Typical Bill. He found joy in the time he spent with friends, so much so that he was able to compartmentalize his troubles and not obsess over them."

In Massachusetts, Bill's many friends also remark over and over about his extraordinary cheerfulness and generosity. When he could no longer work full time, he spent a great deal of time volunteering at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS), helping in many capacities, from editing audio recordings of lectures given by renowned scholars for national distribution, to watering plants.  Co-worker Ana Lindsten of Barre remarked, "When Bill watered the indoor plants, they started to grow and become green. I never saw the plants so beautiful. To me, it showed that everything Bill did at BCBS was with love."

He described his illness as a "gift" that had helped him realize the richness and beauty of each moment of life. As he grew thinner, and had trouble walking, and sometimes trouble eating and even talking, coughing would sometimes overtake him, but he kept going anyway, and was spending active time with friends until he entered Hospice care five days before his death.

Just a few weeks before his death, Bill returned to Atlanta on a road trip, under the watchful eye of his friend Susan Collett as his driver. They spent three weeks around Atlanta so Bill could visit his aunt, cousins and all his friends and say goodbye.

Just days before his death he attended a goodbye party for a Study Center worker. Bill chatted and laughed with everyone and spoke up formally at dinner in appreciation of his co-worker.

Bill often reminded people of his appreciation of the meditation and study opportunities offered at the three Buddhist centers in Barre. One of the visiting teachers, Bhikkhu Vivekananda from Nepal, who Bill asked for information on the Buddhist teachings relating to death, said, "Bill was amazing in his approach to death, open, accepting of it, remaining positive and continuously exploring.

"Knowing that he did not have much longer to live, he practiced with all his heart and mind.

"Though Bill is not with us anymore in this physical world, he set a good example of how to face death with mindfulness."

In a note found in his apartment after his death, Bill had written, "I only have X number of thoughts left before I'm gone. What do I want those thoughts to be?"

A friend said of him, "Bill's death leaves me short one great friend. But he's left me long on memories and a lifetime of lessons in focus, humility and grace."

A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, August 21, at 7 p.m. in the meeting hall of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, 149 Lockwood Road in Barre. Friends are welcome to gather at 6 p.m. Additional memorial services will be held in September in upstate New York, and Atlanta.

Bill leaves several cousins, nieces and nephews, an aunt and uncle, and countless friends.

Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, 48 School Street, Webster, is directing arrangements. A guest book is available at www.shaw-majercik.com .