I'm so sorry for your loss  / Bridget O'Sullivan (stranger)
I was reading the Post this morning, flipping through the Metro section when the picture of a good-looking guy caught my eye. Then the date he was born caught my eye: June 7, 1985. I was born June 6, 1985, and being just 23, it is still hard for me to imagine that we are not all invincible. I am so sorry for you loss and my prayers are with you. Close

We all love and miss you  / William Licamele (Friend)
Will and I were childhood friends from grade school throughout high school. Unfortunately when he and his family moved down to Texas it was hard for us to keep in touch. He was my best friend and not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. I will never forget the last time we hung out. As I was dropping him off at his hotel he said, “Friends don’t shake hands, friends hug.” That’s just the kind of kid Will was, he had a bigger heart then anyone I have ever met. Will, you and your family will always be in my prayers. I love you and miss you bud. Close

Will / Francine From Belgium (none)

In stille ogenblikken
ben je heel dichtbij
wij zien je stralende lach
en horen je stem
maar wij weten.... wij dromen.

Translation:
In silent moments
you are very near
we see your bright shining smile
and we hear your voice
but we know... we are only dreaming.

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A wonderful young man  / June (stranger)

To all of Will's family and friends,

     I just happened upon Will while eating my usual cereal and strawberries and was compelled to find out more about Will.  I liked his face right away, and after reading about him, I'm very impressed with what he did in his young live.  I understand depression very well and it's very difficult to see reality while in the midst of it and I hope that no one blames themselves for what Will did.  Will apparently achieved a lot more than people much older.  I will keep you in my thoughts

     June

    

 

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A Beautiful Tribute  / Martha Johnson

I saw Will's picture in the newspaper, and his website address. My heart breaks for you and your family on the loss of your beautiful, precious son. I read through his site and he touched so many lives, and even in his death, he has touched mine. I too, lost my son at the age of 20. I know your pain, and wanted to let you know you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers..

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I often think of your family  / Jenny Lou Park (Las Lomas neighbor )
Jane-

Today as I was browsing through the paper, I saw the "In Loving Memory of Will." I just wanted you to know that I think of you and your family many times during the year and wonder how you are doing. I also wanted to share a memory of Will. I used to be outside in the front yard on many days when Will would come walking down Las Lomas and cross the street right by me to make his way home from school. He always said hello to me and one time we started laughing about something silly that was in the yard. I know that seems like a "little" thing, but for whatever reason, it has always stuck in my mind. I guess it is just the touching of lives.

I do hope that each day brings more smiles and less tears as you remember your beautiful son.

Jenny Lou Park
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.... / Matthew Last (Childhood friend )
 Will and I were close in grade school.  Yet drifted apart as we moved into highschool.  I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that he is gone.  I will remember him always, and give my deepest, sincere condolences to his Mother, Father, Frank, and Grace. Close

Will was my favorite coach and i miss him  / Kaitlin H. (Swimmer)
Hi my name is Kaitlin and i was one of Will's pre-national swimmers. i guess i just wanted to let you know that there isnt a day that i dont think of Will. He was my favorite coach and i have so many great memories of him that i will carry with me for the rest of my life. recently i participated in a swim meet and got kind of hurt. I sware that the only thing that got me through my events was thinking of what Will would have told me to do, all that i thought was that he would be proud of me because i tried. After Will passed i made a CD dedicated in his name and i started to listen to it at the meet... i was really emotional because i just miss him. I am sorry that i havent contacted you before this it has just been really hard for me to talk about Will. I would also like to say that Frank is turning into an awesome coach and i really appriciate him. so i guess i just wanted to say i miss Will a lot and am very sorry for your huge loss :) Close

Reminders / Marty Parker (friend of family )
Thinking of you, Jane and Randy.  Every time I hear about another of Samantha Tucker's swimming achievements I think of Will.  I know he's proud.  God bless all of you. Close

Truth from Tragedy  / The Mayer Family (Elyse one of his Pre-National swimmers (still) )
At the swim April meet last weekend, some team swimmers wrote 5-5-06 down their upper arm in honor of Will's passing. We remain so sad not to have Will with us. Will inspired so many and was such a good person. We enjoyed looking at his online photo album We saw Family, Friends, Swimming, Support, Love, Faith.... He had a life very much so worth living. We feel Will's presence here with us. On this sad anniversary of his death, we find peace in knowing that Will is no longer suffering. We will celebrate his life which has positively impacted so many others, we’ll appreciate the people in our lives more, we’ll continue to learn from Will’s teaching, Elyse will swim stronger because of his coaching and we’ll all remember Will as a kind, funny, talented mentor to our children. God Bless your family & God Bless Will.
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He lives in our memories and in our hearts  / Judith Coffman (Friend (I hope), Admirer, mother of Naomi (swimmer), one of the many broken-hearted )

Will is not gone from us - he made too great an impact for that.  The fact that every Longhorn swimmer wore his name on their arms last weekend, that he comes up in conversations between the swimmers moms, that we speak of him at home, at dinner, on road trips....no, he left us with too much to mull over, to smile at; advise, good counsel, encouragement.

I doubt all the stories of Will could ever be related in these pages.  We knew him for a shorter time than many and yet we have several of our own.  For example, on the very first day we swam at Circle C, Will was there swimming with the team- at the end of his parctice he was the only one helping with the lane lines to set up for the next group.  I asked him why he was the only one doing this and he told me he didn't mind - it needed to be done.  I thought, WOW - one among many!  Little did I know how true that was.  At STAGS, when Naomi had a distastrous meet, we were in a hurry to leave, but as we exited the parking space, eager to get out of town, who came running from the natatorium, waving furiously, determined to catch us - Will.  We thought perhaps we'd left something and he was graciously returning it, but no - he wanted to speak to Naomi, tell her not to let this determine her future successes, of which he assured her. Amazing that any coach would go to such lengths!  For Christmas '05 I baked each of the coaches a gingerbread - no big deal - but Will took the trouble to hand-write a thankyou note and tell me how delicious it was.  He could have thrown it in the trash for all I knew, but he went the extra step to be thoughtful, courteous and the gentleman he truly was.  We don't forget people like that.  We don't forget the generosity he showed our children, the skill he shared with them; his beautiful spirit.  I will also never forget the dreadful duty of telling my daughter her beloved coach Will was gone.  One year ago, and we still look at each other in dismay with tears streaming down our faces, as they are now while I write.

Will - if only we could have had more time with you; we never had the opportunity to tell you how much you mattered to us - each of us - even on that last day when you told Naomi she was a great swimmer and not to forget all you'd taught her.  Why didn't we know, why didn't we see, how could we have failed to hear.....

I hope it is of some solace to Randy and Jane that their precious son, Will, was loved and admired - and is deeply missed - by so many.  I pray he truly is seeing "the Glory of The Lord" - and that there's a great big swimming pool there for him!

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Will's Impact  / Mia Nieman (Mother of one of Will's swimmers )
Last Sunday, April 29, 2007, Longhorn Aquatics hosted a "Long Course Kick Off " swim meet.  My daughter, Laura Rose Nieman and several other swimmers from the Pre National and National groups had some really good swims. I watched as they swam many personal best times and they seemed to be swimming with a lot of heart and determination. 

After my daughter's 200 free she came over to me covered up in her towel. She said," Mom, I want to show you something and I hope you are not mad."

She dropped her towel to the ground so she could show me her arms. They were both covered in a heavy heavy permanent black marker. One arm read, " Will Sarosdy= we love you". The other arm read, "5-5-06  RIP with God".

Then she said, " We are all swimming for Will today. " 

She motioned to all of her friends in the stands. They were the very pre national swimmers that I had just noticed setting personal best  swims.....

What I find so amazing and deeply touching about this is that no one reminded these girls of Will's death. No adult suggested they do this or reminded them of the date. They have never forgotten. 

 Will has been alive and touching their lives and hearts all of this past year. They carry his teachings with them and they still want to make him proud. They deeply miss him and they will remember forever. 

Your son taught Laura Rose to be proud to be an athlete, to never drag her bag, and to keep trying her best and pushing for her own personal excellence. 

What a wonderful legacy that your son gave to my child. 

My prayers and thoughts are with your family always,

Mia Nieman



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Condolence / Lisday Argueta (My son's coach )
Dear Sarosdy Family,
The loss of our dear coach Will was a shock to my family. Will was an amazing coach and a kind man with the biggest heart. We keep him in our hearts and thoughts, Will's memory will live with us forever.I am thankful that I had the opportunity to meet someone so special and who made so much of a difference in my son's swimming as Will did. Thanks to Will, my son had the best time of his life during swimming practice.
God bless your family,
Love
Argueta Family Close

Will's impact  / Martha Beck (parent of TXLA swimmer )
Dear Sarosdy Family,
We have talked about Will at various times during this past year.  My daughter, Margaret remembers much about his kindness and help during swim practices. 

We can say with certainty that Longhorn is not the same without him.  We miss his gentle nature and humorous contributions that always came at very opportune times.

May you find peace in knowing that he had influence on young, impressionable kids.  I know they all benefitted from having Will around.

Our condolences on the anniversary of his death.
The Beck Family Close

Tribute to a great friend  / Natalie Clark (Best Friend )
I think about Will everyday. This has been the hardest year of my life without him. Everyday, I wish it was all a dream and he would be back with us. Will was the most unselfish person I have ever known. He would have done anything for his friends, family, and swimmers. He had a very unique personality. He had a dry sense of humor that kept me in stitches. He usually answered my crazy questions or ideas with "NAAATTTTAAAALIIIIEEEEE" Here are a few of the very fond memories I have of Will: One night we went to eat at Olive Garden. He did not have any cash, so he was not going to eat. I said, "Will you have a credit card". His response was, "This place doesn't take credit cards, it's an Italian Restaurant" Last February we went to Corpus together for a swim meet. He really wanted to me drive, but I was so tired and did not feel up to it. He got onto 35 and was going 45 miles an hour. I said, "Will we are never going to get there' He said "I am not going to speeeeeeed, I didn't want to drive" I said "Pull over, I am taking over" and I drove the speed limit the rest of the way. That road trip together, was so much fun. On the way we stopped at dairy queen, I just had to have a blizzard. He ordered an "coke icy". The young girl was so confused, He tried to explain it, but just ended up with a coke on ice instead. He was wanting a slush. But, I explained to him that those are at Sonic not Dairy Queen...I couldn't stop laughing. Another very fond memory was last April when I applied for my first teaching job. I did not get the job and was very upset about it. Will simply said taht they did not deserve me and began working up an intricate plan about how we could move to China and start our own school. Will would have been a great teacher, kids loved him! These are a few of my fond memories of Will. He was a great friend and will always be remembered! Close

Your darling son  / Bridget Weiss (friend)
This memorial for Will is beautiful. What a powerful, brave thing for you to create - for him, his friends and everyone who has shared their empathy.

He joined our Masters group enough times that many of the adult athletes knew him. His death stunned our swimmers - most of them are parents, or have suffered loss through untimely death and understand the particular pain it causes. I know we spoke about how profoundly sad it made Brian and me - but I also want to share that his passing touched many people you haven't met.

Those who are so uniquely kind and bright are the ones who affect us most deeply when they leave. Will was admired even by folks he didn't know well.

From our community to yours - Peace, Faith, Strength. Close