Posted on 11/29/2005 1:07:41 AM PST by lunarbicep
EAST DORSET — The man who was the driving force behind the restoration of the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. died Monday morning after a battle with cancer.
Albert "Ozzie" Lepper Jr., 72, began renovating the Wilson House in October 1987, when he moved to East Dorset from Connecticut.
Lepper was a longtime "Friend of Bill W.," or member of AA, according to his funeral notice.
AA is a 12-step program founded in 1935 in Akron, Ohio, by Bill W. and his colleague, Dr. Bob, a native of St. Johnsbury, to assist people struggling to recover from addiction to alcohol. The success of its program has been copied by virtually all other programs that battle addictions, from overeating to gambling.
AA has an international membership that numbers more than 2 million, according to its Web site. Sobriety is sought through sharing experiences at meetings, where the identity of those present is protected to allow them the freedom to speak, according to AA's Web site.
The Wilson House, originally built in 1852 as a hotel, had been closed since the early 1970s, until Lepper and his wife Bonnie reopened it in 1989.
Although AA meetings are regularly held there, the House remains an inn that caters to all manner of tourists, said Katharina S. Lepper-Businger, one of Lepper's daughters.
"He never saw himself as a manager," she said. "He just tried to make sure the house honored the memory of Bill W. and his wife, Lois."
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The Wilson House Restoration is a nonprofit foundation and Lepper was a member of its board of directors, she said.
Lepper was a warm, open and friendly man, said an AA member from Manchester who requested anonymity.
"One of the things he did very well was to involve local people in a positive and friendly way in the restoration," he said.
Since its reopening in 1989, the Wilson House has offered space not only for AA meetings, but other spinoff groups such as Al-Anon, which focuses on the impact alcohol has on spouses and friends of alcoholics.
The property was a focal point for the East Dorset neighborhood as well.
"The Wilson house is a vibrant part of the community and Ozzie and his wife have done wonders for it; they've been really dynamic," said Tim Burke, a neighbor and Dorset selectman. "It's a big loss to the community of East Dorset."
Lepper was born in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1933 and graduated from Nichols College in Massachusetts. His wife, Bonnie Lepper, seven children and nine grandchildren survive him.
Visiting hours will be held at the Brewster Funeral Home in Manchester on Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. The funeral service will follow on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the First Congregational Church of East Dorset.
Yes. "Friends of Bill" or "Friends of Bill W." means members of AA. You see "Friends of Bill W." listed, for example, on cruise schedules, etc. when they don't want to say "AA Meeting"
Please remove me from the ping list. Thanks
hope you have a good meeting
I've never been to a bad one.
You couldn't be more INCORRECT.
I'm addicted to this ping list.
Oct 31, 1985
>You couldn't be more INCORRECT.
Anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films. Principles over personalities. 70 plus years and counting. Incorrect? I don't think so.
You're addicted to Marsha Brady, you sick pup.
It says "personal" anonymity. If you read the traditions in the "long form" or even Bill's explanation in the 12 x 12 you will see that it is to protect the alcoholic's ego.
Good for you, however, drinking is only an action to character defects that need to be addressed. It's 10% drinking, 90% thinking.
God bless you. My dad, for whatever reason, ignored AA, staggered out of our lives in 1967 [and I can say now we were glad to see him go], and died alone, unloved, unmourned in NYC skid row in 1971. So just take it one day at a time, Graybread, and remember: "The Lord never gives a tree heavier fruit than it can bare."
Fine with me, but even Bill W. is not a leader. The principles are what keeps AA in business and without anonymity it would have failed years ago, IMHO, particularly with Bill W's massive ego.
In my dreams, I keep hearing, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!"
[[Good for you, however, drinking is only an action to character defects that need to be addressed. It's 10% drinking, 90% thinking.]]
Well said Pup. Recovery is a spiritual cure more than anything!
thanks for the ping...
Amen.
And it's amazing how that becomes crystal clear after just a few months of sobriety. Once the moral compass is not floating in alcohol, the so called character defects are able to be effectively addressed. "What was I thinking" is the thought of almost everyday as one tries to right his life. I think there is a cure and it lives within the person who is afflicted with a chronic drinkling problem.
9 years in April. Thanks for everything guys...
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