My Faith is My Life

Charles William (Bill) Willard

“I trained and rode race horses. I was a trainer, a jockey, and an owner. War Crescent was my favorite horse. He was a beautiful Bay horse with a small white crescent shape on his forehead. He was man o’ war breeding, which is how he got his name. We bred and raised him since the time he was a colt. He liked to tease my wife. He’d stamp his foot on the ground until she came out and told him to quit.

“We had him in a pen. He moved the pen clear over to the middle of the neighbor’s driveway. They couldn’t get out. He broke the water line off. There was water squirting everywhere and he was in there running around and playing.

“My son used to throw pellets at him. War Crescent hated him. He tried to come after him once and I beat the snot out of him. We had him gelded. My son felt so bad. He felt like he’d caused it all. After that they were best friends. My son would sleep in the stall. He’d lay down with his head against his side.

“He broke his sesamoid bone during a race and we had to sell him. He went to Mexico and they match raced him down there.”

"I was married in 1947. My wife and I are married for eternity. My favorite life experience was when my wife and I served a mission together in Chile. It was a temple mission. I loved working in the temple. It was wonderful. I know all my ordinances in Spanish but I can’t speak it. I can say a few words, but if somebody talks to me, I can’t answer them."

“My wife never complained about anything. Ever. She lived in a tack stall at the end of a barn with three kids. She was so patient. She had an open heart. She followed me wherever I wanted to go.”

“How has my faith impacted my life? It is my life. If it wasn’t for my faith I’d probably be in prison.”


** The day of this interview was only one day after Brother Willard's wife, Cleola, died. He was remarkably open and composed. When he walked me out to my car he said, "I have faith that I'll see her again. That's what keeps me going."