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Susan Seaforth Hayes is saying goodbye to Bill Hayes. Nearly one year after his real-life passing, for the 15,000th episode of Days of Our Lives, Julie said goodbye to Doug with a beautiful eulogy during a funeral scene. If you didn’t know, she and Bill had been married in real-life since 1974. Her character Julie and Bill‘s Doug were the first major couple in the history of daytime TV. Keep reading to find out more… Here is the full eulogy, via Soaps.com. “The look of love. Doug Williams had it and made the world shine with it, especially when he looked at us. My husband’s real name was Brent Douglas. He was raised in an orphanage until he ran away at age 14 and made the best of it living off his charm and his wit. During World War II, he joined the navy and trained to be a fighter pilot. The service taught him how to navigate by air and sea, to fly a stearman, open cockpit, goggles, long scarf, just as you imagine. He learned to dive off a 50 foot platform and swim five miles in one go. To survive for three days on a deserted beach without food or water and how to kill a man with his bare hands, not planning to use these skills in civilian life.” “He was happy to muster out of the navy 24 hours after Japan surrendered. But he loved to fly. He’d dream of it. He’d wake up with such a smile. After the war, he discovered he had a fine singing voice and he flirted with show business and finance. Here are some of the marvelous things he accomplished in the years he was among us. He raised an incredible daughter, our beloved Hope. And he opened a club named Doug’s Place, unforgettable for its music or its warmth or its class. He became the mayor of Salem and the captain of my heart. Here are some of his favorite things besides chocolates: Italy, grand opera, lyrics, puns of his own composing, family dinners, tap dancing, up tunes, new places to go, old songs to sing… The Dodgers, New York City, serenades, sunshine in the morning, performing, poached eggs, Count of Monte Cristo, Casablanca. Every Christmas card that had photos of his friends and family. Piles of sheet music. The morning sports page and an old safari jacket that he wore on every continent. Red roses, red lips, red sauces, red wines and an Indian ruby that he gave to me.” “He took me to the Taj Mahal. He took me to the pyramids. He took me to the Great Wall of China. And he took me to paradise with every kiss. Songs he composed: ‘Ramshackle Daddy.’ ‘Happy New Year to You.’ ‘I Love to Tap,’ and ‘I’ve Got the World By the Tail.’ Joyful, joyful tunes from a heart that was just pounding the rhythm of life. And please let me tell you his mind and his spirit were unchanging until too many happy birthdays stole all his strength away. What gifts he had, my sweetest of sweethearts. My ageless, beautiful troubadour. ‘My love is like a red red rose that’s sweetly sprung in June. My love is like a melody that’s sweetly played in tune.’ So, what will people remember about this exuberant, accomplished gentle man? Will it be the performances? Will it be the music? Will it be all those happy times?” “Besides his talent, you all spoke of his kindness. You know, in Webster’s dictionary, the word ‘kind’ means gentle and, and generous. And that’s it. That’s it, exactly. He treated all strangers as potential friends, never returning unkindness with a wry or cynical remark. Why do we love him so much? Because he saw us, he really saw us. Doug gave everyone — a visitor at the door or a troubled grandchild — this greeting. He was always smiling and it was full of optimistic expectations. What he saw in us was something wonderful. And we became, in his company, as wonderful as we all ought to be No surprise, his favorite movie was Love, Actually. He passionately reached out to people his whole life with a song with a story and that look of love. Love that transcends time and lifts us all into the light where creation never ends and we are shining too.” Find out which star just joined as the grandson of Doug Williams.
