LEWISTON- William “Bill” Eastman, 54, of Fourth Street Home in Mexico, died Tuesday, April 10, at the Central Maine Medical Center.

Born in Rumford, Sept. 27, 1952, he was a son of the late Herbert and Elberta “Dolly” (Holbrook) Eastman. He attended Hope School in Mexico.

He worked at the Oxford County Association of Retarded Children, on Lincoln Ave. in Rumford. He was an active participant in the Special Olympics and he was also in Boy Scouts.

He was a man that lived beyond his disability. He never turned down a good time or an opportunity to make a friend smile. A lover of music and a fan of Elvis, he visited Memphis in 2005. He toured Graceland and strolled Beale Street. He visited museums and stood where Elvis stood to record his first album at Sun Studios. The trip was a dream for him, and he enjoyed every bit of it.

He loved who he was. He helped new staff understand rights, and was very proud of himself and his family. He genuinely cared about staff residents and others. He was beautifully compassionate and would calmly hold the residents hands like a brother, and softly ask how they were doing. He was loved by his many nieces and nephews and will be missed by all who knew him.

Survivors include a brother, Robert Eastman and his wife, Brenda, of Mexico; and a sister, Audrey Van Der Horn and her husband, Richard, of Hamilton, N.J.

He was predeceased by a sister, Dorothy Ann who died in 1984