old colleagues of pats in the waitressing game who remembered him as a bright-eyed boy tagging along with his mother on nights a baby-sitter was unavailable , neighbors who recalled him finding their lost cat , classmates who remembered his friendliness in school , old girlfriends who once thought he was the cutest boy in the world and who upon hearing of his death were filled with a stinging , poignant nostalgia for the lost times , the coach of the baseball team who always admired his sportsmanship and decency when playing the game , the hardware-store man who trusted him with errands , the now elderly lady who remembered he was the only boy who didnt run away when a baseball broke her windowthese and scores of others all remembered bill as a decent and good man and thought enough of him to pay their respects at the visiting hours .