He was born, Frank William Feldman, on December 28th, 1943, in Beaumont, Texas.  His parents were, Sophia "M'goo" Greenberg Feldman of Beaumont, and Leon Feldman of New Orleans.  He had one brother, Robert.  He moved to New Orleans, Louisiana at around the age of 5, and moved to Baton Rouge around 1949.They lived in South Baton Rouge, and Bill went to school at Southdowns Elementary, and Walnut Hills Elementary. He was a member of Boy Scouts of America for many years.  He attended Baton Rouge Jr. High and Baton Rouge High School, where he graduated in 1961.  He attended LSU, where he was an English Major from 1961 to 1965, when he joined the United States Coast Guard Reserves.  He joined the Baton Rouge Jaycees in 1964, serving on the board of directors for many years, as well as holding the office of Treasurer around 1966.  He "exhausted" from the Jaycees in 1980, after 16 years.  He met his wife, Gertie, in 1963, and "courted her like a proper gentleman" for three years before marrying her.  They married in 1966.  They had two daughters, Denise was born in 1967, Becky in 1969. 
In 1961, his father opened a furniture store in Baton Rouge, called Feldman Furniture.  Dad worked in the store for 10 years, until it closed in 1971.  At that time, he started "going on the road" as a Furniture Manufacturer's Representative, having joined Louisiana Home Furnishings Representatives Association as well as International Home Furnishings Representatives Association in 1971.  He went to furniture markets four times a year, and called on his customers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and sometimes even Arkansas and Alabama on a regular basis.  He held the office of President with LHFR around 1988-89, and was installed as President of IHFRA in March of 1999.

Now for some of my memories:

Dad was a member of  Temple B'Nai Isreal, in Baton Rouge for as long as I can remember.  We went to Sunday School every Sunday, and went to eat at Picadilly afterwards.  We had to change clothes in the car between Temple and Picadilly because Mom and Dad didnt want us to spill food on our "Sunday clothes".  I remember being a little girl and dad comming home from one of his trips, having shaved his trademark beard and moustache completely off, leaving that "baby face" showing.  Our back door had a big window in it, and as he walked up to the door and looked into the kitched smiling, I screamed!  There was a strange man smiling at me!! I never knew it was my Dad, til I heard his voice.  There was another time, where I tried to take a tape recorder and tape him snoring, but he busted me.  Told Mom I was standing there snoring into it when he "heard something" and woke up.  I used to travel with Daddy whenever I had the chance.  I always loved going into those different furniture stores and seeing all the different types and styles of furniture.  He always said the same thing to me, at every store, "Dont touch anything, dont run, and stay quiet, people are working."  As I got older, maybe 11 or 12, I started helping him with his paperwork at home, putting acknowldgements and orders together.  Eventually, he got so used to me doing it, that he paid me for it.  That was before the days of the computer and the wonderful, "Know-It" programs the Reps use today.  When I had my children, he told people he was an Uncle, because he was too young to be a Grandfather, yet the first time my son said, "Grandpa", he melted into nothing, and he's been "Grandpa ever since.

Daddy was also a member of a hunting club up in St. Francisville for several years,  and I would go up there with him on weekends and go "hunting".  Well, I wouldnt take a gun in the woods, but I"d go with dad or someone else.  Dad used to call me "eagle eye" because I could see a deer before he could hear it.  When he tried to teach me to shoot, I decided then, that I'd just sit on the stand with someone else and be an extra set of eyes.  When Mom and Dad got ready to move to St. Francisville, I helped Mom clean out everything upstairs in the house.  Dad just knew that when we went up there we were digging for buried treasure, rather than cleaning it out and throwing it away. Little did he know, or maybe he did know, I was really enjoying going through all that old stuff in those storerooms. The day he got the phone call that everything was finalized,  he called to Mom from the bottom of the stairs (he didnt climb those stairs unless it was necessary).  He stood at the bottom of the stairs, Mom at the top, and said to her, "it's official, and I'm scared to death", then he cried.  I never saw my dad cry very often.  I never saw Dad and Mom happier than when they finally moved into the house in St. Francisville.  People would ask me how my parents were doing, and my general response would be, "They are like two little kids with a new playtoy, just as happy as can be!"  It's true, I had never seen my parents so happy.  Almost like newlyweds.  Thats the only way I can describe it.  I have tons of memories of my dad, way too many to list here.  I hope that some of you will share your memories of my dad on my message board after you have looked at the page!