I met Bill Maison in the spring of 1993. Bill sold opals through the Rock and Gem and was well known in the trade. Bill started attending the rock club meetings with me, both the Monterey Gem and Mineral Society and the Hollister Gem and Mineral Society. Bill was a fun person to talk to, a Mensa member, and very knowledgeable about gemstones. He always had some new method of making money. I remember talking to him about his appliance rental place and how he used to collect cans full of worn change out of the dryers. He was shocked when I told him he could have taken those to the bank, because he though that they were ruined and had been throwing them away. I hated having to leave California in 1994 to move to Northern Japan, but I kept in touch with Bill and his wife Kathy.

In 1997 I came back to the States, but wasn't able to go visit Bill. Bill passed away the next year. I finally got to visit with Kathy in 1999 and she gave me a piece of Bill's collection to remember him by. I miss him and think about him every time I look at it.