Bill Worrell When Bill Worrell came into my life and we married, it was actually his girls Robin, Katie, and Gretchen, who asked me to adopt them, making us a family of five children. It’s been my great honor to have taken the baton to the finish line after their mother passed away. They are my girls both legally and of the heart. We, the girls and I, have been together now longer than the time they had with their parents. Having them come into my life has been full of many blessings. And it gives me great pride that all of my children have been successful in their own right: a doctor, a nurse, a principal, an entrepreneur, and my partner in business. I could not ask for more. Giving back to the community that supports your business is such an important thing to do, and I wanted to do my part. I became a school board member, and one of my first tasks was to hire the superintendent. When we recruited Bill Worrell to our community, ironically he was my number one pick of all the candidates, not imagining of course that he would one day become my husband. Bill and his late wife Maureen had been grade - school sweethearts and ultimately married. When their family move to Bend, Maureen and I became close and trusting friends even though our personalities were so very different. She was prim and proper ; a home economics major who was the perfect stay-at-home mom. She always came to school potlucks with a picnic basket lined with a red-and-white checked tablecloth. Me? I would be up until the wee hours trying to cram in my baking for school activities the next day after a long day at work, then putting my culinary results into any container I could find, never mind finding a matching tablecloth or picnic basket. In fact, when the ir family needed help when Bill had to travel, I would stay with the girls and Maureen after she was diagnosed with very serious breast cancer and it began to spread to other parts of her body (for the second time in her life). Maureen, sensing her time left on earth not long and in her infinite understanding of my love for her girls, asked me late one night when I was staying with her and the girls if I would look after the girls when she passed. To me that ask was such an honor. Knowing she could leave this world and her precious girls by tidying up details gave her great peace and my l o ve for them was already in place. (expound on her story) A while after she died, I took the girls shopping for school clothes in Eugene, and on the way back Bill invited my kids and I to a barbecue with him and his girls. When he walked me out to the car that evening after a fu n -filled time of regaling Bill with our tales of shopping, he thanked me for the help with shopping and said, “I have decided to think about dating now.” I asked, “Have you decided who you are going to date?” “Yes, you!” he replied. I was in a very serious relationship at the time, and I said out loud without thinking it through, “I don’t know about dating you and sometimes wonder if I even like you, plus we debate over issues all from different outlooks. How will this ever work?” Even though I’m overly skeptical that “Cinderella” stores come true, he leaned down and kissed me and in a romantic coincidence it felt like bells were ringing. In other words, I had the feeling it was very right to look at this relationship , much to my surprise! So, we began dating. Several months later he called in the middle of the day and said, “Get the kids dressed, bathe the dog, and meet me in front of our fireplace. We are getting married tonight.” We were together for just shy of 13 years until he was diagnosed with lung cancer. We would have been together the rest of our years without question if he had not been taken away by the disease. Bill had never smoked so the lung cancer diagnosis shocked us. Some of our doctors wondered if it could have been from asbestos in the old school buildings; we would never know for sure . Bill had only one year from the time we were put on notice about the cancer until he died. This is the “no regrets in life” part of the story. I think if you were to ask any of our five children today, they would tell you ours was a marriage that was rare, unique, and one people noticed, and filled with mutual respect. (expound) When Bill passed, we left each other with no regrets except for one thing; that we could not buy more time. A friend once called Bill an “uncommon man.” He was strong and vibrant, and he would change many people’s lives through his encouragement. He demanded the best of those he cared about, which was sometimes hard on all of us because we wanted to make him proud. He also demanded the best of himself. Somehow, our family never thought he would get sick. He always seemed so much bigger than life’s adversities, and he loved his family more than anything. I taught my grandkids at a very young age his saying, “Good, better, best. Never let it rest until the good is better and the better is best.” He believed in his family, and there was no question he wanted us to become the b est we could be, and I am so proud they did. Bill had accomplished so much in his too-short life: Marine lieutenant, the youngest school superintendent in Oregon, an inductee into the Oklahoma City Wrestling Hall of Fame. After he died, our community named a park after him, Worrell Wayside, and honored hi m with a Worrell Family Day. One thing that wasn’t as well known was that he was also a poet. I still keep and treasure a folder of poems he dedicated to me, our family, and life in general. I also found an occasional poem for me that he would leave on my pillow. “Family” was the last one he wrote. Family By William K. Worrell Through the highs and the lows, the ins and outs Through exploring and testing, the love and the bouts . Through growth and death and times tough to see The one solid foundation is our family. As we take the journey through life’s many trials To make our contribution, with individual styles . When all else fails, there remains one key It is the caring and love of our family. Our family is there, when needed most To support our spirits, when bust or boast . They know us best, our strengths and more They know us inside, and deep to the core . So live and love, as one from the tribe And always remember, with dignity and pride As Gibran once said, we are one, we are free And behind us forever, is our family. After his diagnosis, he sat me down and declared, “We don’t know what tomorrow brings, but we do know who holds it. I want us to have no regrets as I leave this world, and my wish is we leave each other with no regrets.” Together we achieved that goal of no regrets, using our year after his diagnosis wise. At one point during our year, we were told he had no more cancer in the lungs . Shortly after that diagnosis we went to Hawaii which was a gift from our company, Express Employment Professionals (my franchise), for the volume of business we achieved during the year. Our hearts were full of happiness as we packed! We felt so blessed by the news and hopeful for the future ; but it wasn’t meant to be long term. S oon after we arrived in Hawaii, Bill fell. We went to the hospital immediately thinking he had just injured his hip. But we were told the cancer had spread to his bones, brain, and was back to being active. My heart ached when I had to tell him our time together was now quickly coming to an end. We were devasted. I will never forget late at night when the hospital was quiet and Bill asleep, doing further research on his new diagnosis and the devastation I felt in my heart accepting the fact. As fate would have it, he would not be with us for long. Understanding with profound clari t y how all of those people before us who had lost loved ones , what they had faced together , and how to go forward , was one of the bigger challenges I have faced. Through it all that phrase “Uncommon Man” came into focus on c e again as we gathered the courage to take Bill to the finish line with love and respect. Not knowing or understanding at that time how many times friends, family, and acquaintances would use my experience to help them through their own tough transactions of cancer with family. Several friends from our company prayed for us that day and asked for the courage to see us though. In that special “Bill way,” when I explained the diagnosis and told him we had to end the trip and head home, he replied, “No, we are going to take this week and be ready to face what is coming united, as a couple, take the time to figure out how to ell the kids, have some time alone to figure out how we wanted to live out our remaining time together know ing each day will be a gift.” On the last evening in Hawaii with our friends he wanted to see the last sunset, so several Express guys carried him and his wheelchair to the beach, and that evening we watched the most magnificent sunset I have seen. The heavens seemed to explode in brilliant colors across the skyline, just for him. Bill taught me in our time together a new level in the belief I could do anything. He continually encouraged me to try new things, hit more business milestones, and become a stronger leader. Our son Kevin actually interview ed Bill about how he viewed and lived the qualities of a strong servant leader. Their time together gave Kevin a model for his own leadership skills. His faith in me would give me the courage to do more, be more, and reach for the highest pinnacle of my career and life. My words seem so inadequate to express the feelings for what this man gave to all of us during his time on earth, especially me. (expound)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Bill Worrell in Connie's story?
Bill Worrell was Connie's first husband and business partner. Before his untimely death, he gave Connie something more valuable than money — permission to believe in herself.
How did Connie Worrell-Druliner cope with loss while running a business?
Connie carried her grief into the office every day and kept going. She didn't have the option to fall apart — she had children depending on her.
What does permission mean in the context of women in business?
For Connie, permission wasn't about asking someone else if she could succeed. It was about believing she deserved to. Bill saw something in her before she saw it in herself.
How do women entrepreneurs deal with grief and business?
There's no playbook for running a company while your heart is breaking. Connie's story shows that grief and business can coexist — not comfortably, but honestly.
