Allison Mayhew (Bill) Masterson: The Man, the Myth, the Legend...

Allison Mayhew (aka Bill) Masterson bounced back from surgery to repair his heart (2000), his carotid artery (2006), an abdominal aneurysm (2007), and a popliteal artery aneurysm (2019); but he could not beat spindle cell carcinoma, a rare form of lung cancer. Bill died in Altamonte Springs, Florida on April 15, 2021.

Born at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. on March 29, 1928, to Dorothy Mayhew Masterson and Alvin McKinley Masterson, Bill had an older sister, Adeline (Ocala, FL), who predeceased him.

An "army brat" Bill lived many places, including Augsburg, Germany after WWII when his father was reassigned from supporting the OSS to the Army Occupation Forces. After returning to the U.S and completing high school, Bill spent two years in the Army and was wounded during the Korean War.

Bill used the GI Bill to earn a B.S. Degree from the University of Florida and a Master's Degree from Rollins College, taught high school history, and served as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and administrator before joining the staff of Seminole Community College as a counselor and later as Director of Student Life, a position he held until he retired. Bill ended his career as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas-Austin and at Huston-Tillotson University, also in Austin.

Along the way, Bill raised two children, Bill Jr. (Je'nee) and Michelle (Steve); survived 40 years of marriage to Maggie; was the proud grandfather of Allison Michelle (now a graduate student at UNC - Chapel Hill); and doted on his nieces and nephews who, according to him, were "as important to me as my own children." Bill also became addicted to golf—and still was perfecting his swing and practicing his putting a few months before he died.

Unlike many of his generation, Bill received the gift of time and used that gift wisely. He sailed on every one of the seven seas, logged over 650,000 miles in a variety of planes from modern jets to six passenger crates, and traveled to 50 states, 60 countries, and 6 continents (including Antarctica). He toured the Canary Islands on a camel, canoed down wild rivers in Costa Rica and Guatemala, climbed an active volcano in Chile and the Grand Tetons in Jackson Hole, drove the Pan American Highway through the Andes in a snowstorm, hiked all five of the D-Day beaches, served (against his better judgment) as a human shield for a British officer in Northern Ireland during "The Troubles," sailed around Cape Horn, panned for gold in the Klondike, outsmarted three bears in Banff, and got invited to an Australia Day barbeque on the beach in Melbourne—even though he arrived 24 hours earlier knowing no one in the city. The list could go on and on. Suffice to say that Bill Masterson loved adventure, never met a stranger, and managed to fit in wherever he went.

Bill found another type of adventure when he spent two weeks each summer in Scituate, MA teaching his nieces and nephews –and eventually his granddaughter—how to fly kites, golf, swim, and enjoy life, all the while trying to impart valuable "life lessons." He served as the family's unofficial "fixer:" repairing any and all items (toys, furniture, windows) broken by accident, arbitrating disagreements, and asking everyone the essential question: are you a happy girl (or boy)? Between visits, Uncle Bill was available 24/7 via phone to listen and offer advice—and that phone was busy, especially after his nieces and nephews entered college.

When Bill was first diagnosed, several people asked him how he wanted to spend his remaining days. His answer surprised them: "I never had a bucket list. My goal was to enjoy each day, do what appealed to me (as long as my actions did not harm anyone else), treat others with kindness and respect, and live a good life by my definition. I have no regrets and thousands of happy memories. I had a great life. Because what matters in the end are the people you meet along the way, the good you do, the adventures you share, and the happy memories you create with family and friends."

Interment will be at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery on Thursday, April 22, at 11 a.m. Services will be private.

Since Cape Canaveral National Cemetery does not allow flowers to remain on the grave and family members have their memories of life with Bill Masterson to console them, resist the temptation to send flowers. Instead, consider a donation in Allison M (Bill) Masterson's name to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (411 Mercy Drive, Orlando, FL 32805) or St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis TN (262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105).

The Family of Bill Masterson invites you to leave a message of condolence on the Tribute Wall created in his loving memory.