RIP Bill and my condolences to family and friends.
I never met Bill in person, but as a reader of SEO by the Sea and his articles on other platforms' he helped my very much with seeing the bigger picture of what are the important steps to achieve lasting results. As a small inhouse SEO, first in Germany and now in the UK, I don't rub shoulders with the greats of our industry. So I was really surprised when Bill replied to a quite simple question I tweeted, and his explanation was easy to understand and not just big words from a big name. Over the time I was helped more than once by his advice.
So with sadness I say goodbye to someone with more knowledge than I will ever achieve and still so humble and friendly to help out the 'small guys'.