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HERE IS EVERYTHING I HAVE ABOUT BILL'S FUNERAL  2-9-2007
 
dcfjlogos.JPG (7836 bytes)CTHIS SUNDAY (FEB 18th) SIMPLY FOLK, WI PUBLIC RADIO WILL HAVE A SPECIAL FEATURE ON BILL
 CLICK HERE FOR LIVE STREAM
Will start about 5:30pm

Many Many of Bills friends and fans simply lived too far away to make the funeral.
This summer we will honor Bill and have memorial Jams at both his festival the weekend of June 8-9-10 2007 and at the Shawano Folk Festival August 10-11-12
Link to Shawano Festival  		These E-mails went out as soon as possible.

We received hundreds of cards and e-mails form all across the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zeeland, Denmark, Mexico, Australia, France, United Kingdom, Scotland Argentina, Japan, Panama, & Brazil

The Heritage Farm Bluegrass Festival is Being Renamed: The Bill Jorgenson Memorial Bluegrass Festival.

We will have a special memorial for Bill at 4pm on Saturday June 9th 2007

Bill's daughter Jenni would like to thank everyone for coming to the funeral and for all the hundreds of cards, flowers, letters, and e-mail she has been receiving.
This happened yesterday morning (Friday) (2-2-07)
I called Bill a little after 9am this morning and after some phone sounds he came on the line and said ROB I'm in trouble my left side is numb   Call 911.
I told Bill to hang on and that I would call at once.
When I got a hold of the Door County 911 Service they took the information and sent an ambulance to Bills Log Cabin outside of Sturgeon Bay. 
 
I spent about a half hour tracking down Jenny his daughter and during this time I called Bill Back and got his answering machine.  I think he could hear me so I talked to him for awhile from my side. 
I left work and Lynn and I headed up to Door County. Half way to Door County we received a call saying he was being flown by Helicopter to St Vincent in Green Bay so we turned around and headed back to Green Bay.
 
I had a brief conversation with Jenni  Bill's Daughter and she said that he was unconscious and had some tremors and they were moving him to Green Bay.
 
When we got to Green Bay the Dr told us that Bill had a stroke and the blood clot was in a bad part of the brain where it would not be possible to operate.  Further the Brain Surgeon explained that he did not expect Bill to wake up and that if he did he probably would not have much memory left.
 
Jenni and her boy friend Mark were there along with Bill's grandchildren Tegan Ashley and Amberlee,   The kids got to go in and see Bill but he was not awake. and they came out in tears. I gathered them together and we talked a little about their grandfather and how lucky they were to have him as a grandfather..
I ended with  Well maybe God just needed a really good bluegrass singer and musician.
More when I know more- Rob
  
Really sad to announce that Bill Jorgenson, the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass passed away this morning Feb 5th at about 1am   He is survived by his daughter Jenni and three grandchildren Tegan Ashley and Amberlee
He left a wonderful legacy of bluegrass music in the form of 8 CD's dedicated to saving the old classics and his bluegrass in the schools program which visited 90 schools and over 20.000 children, It was a free program
Bill's Heritage Farm Bluegrass Festival will be renamed the Bill Jorgenson Memorial Bluegrass Festival and will be held this year June 8-9-10th with a special tribute to Bill.
Really sad day
Rob and Lynn   2-5-07
 

Click on Above for larger image

NEWS PAPER

ARTICLES

Green Bay Press Gazette
Kendra Meinhart

 Shawano Leader Reporter
Donna Hobscheid		 + a Door County Advocate
        Christopher Clough/Charlie
ADDITIONAL RECORDINGS FOUND LOOK FOR ONE MORE BILL JORGENSON CD IN JUNE 07

 

SEE BELOW FOR ARTICLE TO BE PUBLISHED IS SEVERAL BLUEGRASS MAGAZINES

 

 

The Special Tribute to Bill is shaping up nicely and will be held at the Bill Jorgenson Memorial Bluegrass Festival approximately 4pm on Saturday June 9th 2007.

 

June 9th will be proclaimed Bill Jorgenson, the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass Day here in Wisconsin by the Governor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
E-mails E-Mails   E-Mails
Please accept my condolences for Bill, you, and the rest of his family.  I am sure this is a very hard time for all of you.
Bill's contribution to the Bluegrass community and his commitment to keeping this wonderful music venue vibrant and
"real"  to young and old alike has been much appreciated by all of us who play and appreciate bluegrass.  God Bless...

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I am really sad to hear the news about Bill. You have my sincere sympathy. The music world has lost a very genuine and talented artisit. Thank you for all you've done to keep Bill's music alive. Especially, thank you for all you've done with the "Music
In Our Schools" program. Bill certainly could not have touched as many as he did without your very able coordination, skill and talent. Bill has certainly left a wonderful legacy for his grandchildren, and our school children as well.
 
I drove all the way up and back without a radio or cell phone. I am writing now from my heart. I am feeling like Bill had touched me in ways I did not appreciate before. I felt "here's a nice old guy who took time to listen to what I had to say." the first time I met him. Then I thought "this old guy could really teach me something about the music business, I better listen to what he tells me". After a while I thought "here is a fine gentleman who plays music to share life. I wish I could model him". Seeing him in the casket was not real. His strength and his character shone brightly. In death he has made me think "Life is way too short to worry about how many jobs you get or who's mad at you or what the "bluegrass" community says about you. I will never have the talent of a Bill or for that matter the class of Bill.I am thinning that I will try to emulate his love for the music and not the almighty buck. I will try to treat my clients as guests into my universe of artistry called music.
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 Rob, I'm so sorry to hear this news.  I'm sending you a big hug-- several of them.  You have been such a great friend and advocate for Bill; I'm SO glad that you were able to be there for him and talk to him when he really needed that.  I always love getting your updates and publicity for Bill's shows, and one big part of it for me is just knowing how much you love him-- it comes through so clearly.  My thoughts and prayers are with you and Bill and his family-- and to your wife as well, of course.  Thanks for letting us know

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Bill is truly a heritage lost; our great loss and Heaven’s gain. He is in Heaven’s band…Angels Rejoice!

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II  recently heard about Mr. Jorgenson's passing this morning and I'm writing to express my sincere sympathy.  What he accomplished during his lifetime will not be forgotten and as a music educator I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for what he and yourself have done these past years in educating students.  May God bless you during these tough times and I wish you well on your future endeavors.
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Kent Christianson John Doxtator High Blue

          SATURDAY March 3, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

I stopped in to see an old friend today, but he wasn’t there. His car was parked next to his little log cabin. The snow on the roof and the drifts on the ground were almost touching as we struggled with the storm door to get in out of the wind.  Walking inside -  the same fiddles, pictures, and mandolins were hanging on the walls, but he wasn’t there.

There were stacks of Bluegrass Magazines, Banjo’s and guitars lined up in cases along the walls and wonderful remembrances of years gone by but he wasn’t there. The fireplace proudly displayed his member of Americas Old Time Music Association Plaque and pictures of his daughter Jenni and grandchildren Amberlee, Ashley and Tegan but he wasn’t there.

CD’s, Records, VHS and Cassette Tapes were piled on the furniture and letters and drawings from the children were displayed through out the cozy cabin. The huge world map on the wall proudly displayed 29 colored pegs, all places where his CD’s had been requested and played. The phone had messages from across the country Canada and beyond but he wasn’t there.

 When you needed a helping hand in Door or Kewaunee Counties you could always count on Bill.  If you needed a place to stay, or a few dollars to get bye, or someone to come drive you home from the local establishment he was always there.  If you needed to borrow a guitar or banjo or mandolin or fiddle he was always there.  If you were afraid to get on stage and just needed a little encouragement he was always there. 

 If you were Johnnie Cash or June Carter and you needed someone to talk to or to open for you - Or if you were Alison Krause on your 21st birthday and not feeling well or wanting to sing, Bill just rounded up Chubby Wise took out their fiddles and said “Alison let’s play tonight instead of singing”. If you were passing through like John Hartford or John Denver to jam up he was always there.

 If you were Bill Monroe and getting on a little in life, it was Bill and his car that transported you around Northern Wisconsin and helped get you ready for the stage and even sang with you.  Bill had a way of being very humble and quiet off stage and just kind of growing on you. Once he got on stage he was the professional, so much so that his friend Bill Monroe named Bill, the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass. When Uncle Josh Graves, Kenny Baker, and Frank Wakefield needed a singer to round out their onstage experience, and to start a friendship that spanned the years, and when Dallas Smith lost his brother Bobbie and needed encouragement you were always there.

 When you felt that the children of today needed to hear something other than rap music, for some 20,000 schools children who learned the Two Dollar Bill Song and saw all the Bluegrass instruments and heard you play the guitar, fiddle, banjo and sing and for the educators and students who greatly appreciated your free program you were always there.

 And when a jam or festival needed a boost, and needed someone special even though they had no money or if a nursing home needed a cheer up day or if a little restaurant or the Wisconsin State Fair needed a seasoned performer you were always there.

And when your daughter needed help through some rough times or a grand child needed a partner for the father-daughter dance or a wonderful father, you were always there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Bill Jorgenson at 76 years old

 

Yes, I stopped to see and old friend, but he wasn’t there, because

William Jorgenson, (Billy), the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass, passed away February 5, 2007.

 

 Rob Billings

 

 CLICK ON PICTURE TO SEE THE Governor's PROCLAMATION

JUNE 9th 2007 is Bill Jorgenson the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass Day!


CLICK HERE TO SEE BILL'S  FESTIVAL June 8-9-10 2007

CLICK HERE TO SEE BILL'S CD"s


 

ALL ABOUT BILL JORGENSON