Master Willie
1903 - 2005

A Tribute - An Era has ended with "Master Willie"

Like a good teacher, at the end of his class he clearly wrote the next lesson, then closed his eyes and gently slipped away into history, at around 1 p.m. on Monday, July 4, 2005, with his family around him at his "Wilmar" residence at 14th Road, Bandra gracefully accepting the end of a 102-years well spent.

The lesson that William Dominic D'Souza, fondly known as Master Willie, left for posterity was written with a firm hand and a clear mind. It said: "Master Willie passes away at the age of 102 and a half." He also very thoughtfully thanked the Parish Priest of St. Theresa's, Bandra for administering to him a short time earlier. In true Christ-like manner, he thanked God for all that He has bestowed on him and all those who tended to his few needs.

Master Willie belonged to the D'Souza family of Versova, a son of the soil. He lived in Orlem, Malad, shifted to Bandra in the 40's and later, with his wife Mary built a home for the family which was aptly named "Wilmar".

He rightly called himself a quintessential "Lay Jesuit". He studied at St. Stanislaus, graduated from St. Xavier's College and returned to St. Stanislaus as a teacher in 1927 for a 40-year stint till 1967, teaching History, English, Latin and Mathematics. He remembered all his students, was proud of them as they considered it a privilege to benefit from his teaching.

Apart from his scholastic discipline, Master Willie pursued a number of hobbies -- he was a keen photographer processing and printing the photographs, he was a devoted violinist, a sportsman, a cyclist and a sharp and witty orator, and therefore a popular toast-master.

More than a Teacher, Master Willie was a humanist with an accent on character building through discipline and good moral understanding. His family members - children, grand children and great grand children have inherited these values.

Master Willie remembered his students by name. Whenever I visited him, rarely to my regret, he not only welcomed me by name, but also recalled where I resided and the names of my father and grand-father. Such was this man who had become feeble with age but was mentally very alert. He could take one way back into the past clearly recalling people and events. I could have gained much listening to him, but lost out to procrastination - an era has come to an end, a class to a close.

--Irwin Almeida