‘He was the best of all of us’

They gathered in the Stan Sheriff Center — football teammates, coaches, friends and administrators — to reaffirm the answer to this question: Who can turn the world on with a smile? 

During Monday’s "celebration of life ceremony" in tribute to University of Hawaii running back Willis Wilson, his media-guide picture — with the disarming smile — was displayed on the LED scoreboard.

"If you didn’t know Willis," his family wrote in the program distributed to the 400 in attendance, "here is a little something about him: He was all teeth. He loved to smile with his whole face, and when he smiled at you, he smiled with his whole self, not just his teeth."

That smile, former teammate Tony Grimes noted, "made you smile."

Jack "Willis" Wilson III — "Willy Will" or "Cudi Man" to teammates and friends — died on Nov. 30 of an apparent drowning off Sandy Beach. He was 21.

Joe Onosai, the football team’s chaplain and a former Strongest Man competitor, battled emotion as he spoke of everybody’s best friend.

Despite his youth, Onosai said, Wilson had "a great perspective" on life. Onosai said Wilson’s upbeat personality was traced to an "amazing heart."

"How we see life," Onosai said, "is in the state of your heart."

Onosai then recited an Abraham Lincoln quote: "In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years."

During the hourlong service, teammates, roommates and running backs coach Chris Wiesehan recalled a player with unabashed good cheer.

They noted how Wilson had a box-fade haircut, wore retro-styled clothes and often broke out into 1990s-inspired R&B songs.

Wiesehan said Wilson indeed "marched to the beat of a different drummer," but in that analogy, Wilson was the DJ. "He spun the music," Wiesehan said.

Wilson was born in Pearl City but raised mostly in Washington. He was a walk-on at the University of Washington for three years before transferring to Hawaii this past summer.

"I brought him over," said cornerback Dee Maggitt, a childhood friend.

Maggitt, wide receiver Bubba Poueu-Luna, offensive lineman Kody Afusia, kicker Joe Uglietto and volleyball player Aniefre Etim-Thomas shared a house in Kaimuki. Wilson was invited to live with them. He entertained his roommates with his outlandish dance moves and impromptu singing.

"I miss you," Etim-Thomas said, "and I hope you’re dancing in heaven."

Teammates Harold Moleni, Justin Vele and Haani Tulimaiau sang a hymn. Sonny and Marsha Kapu sang two Bob Marley songs.

"He always had a way to make us feel better," Uglietto said. "He was the best of all of us."

Jack Wilson Jr., a former UH football player, recalled long conversations with his son. He remembered such talks as "special gifts."

"Willis Wilson was much more than my son," the elder Wilson said, "he was my best friend."