DeKalb residents remember William “Slick” Mason after crash: ‘He was such a nice guy’

DeKALB - Friends of William “Slick” Mason said he’ll be remembered by many in DeKalb as someone who was friendly and easy-going, a familiar face who will be missed downtown.

Mason, 73, was killed in a hit-and-run incident about 8 a.m. Tuesday near the 200 block of East Lincoln Highway. James E. Simmons, 26, of DeKalb is charged in his death. Police said Simmons is accused of colliding into Mason with his car and then driving away from the scene, leaving Mason alone lying in the street. Mason was taken by DeKalb paramedics to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“He meant more to me than just a guy you see out on the street,” said Nathan Kofoid, 37, a friend of Mason’s. “I cared for him and I believe he cared for me.”

Slick, as Mason was affectionately known around town, was a familiar face at several local bars and restaurants, including Hometown Sports Bar & Grill, 241 E. Lincoln Highway.

“He came in pretty regularly, fairly quiet guy, but was always nice and never caused any problems,” Hometown owner Tom Schmidt said. “He kept to himself a lot. It is unfortunate what happened.”

A hard worker, always on time and a good guy is the way Justin Carlson, 50, of DeKalb remembers Mason. The duo worked together for a handful of years, through the late 1990s, Carlson said. Mason was a local union 196 electrician for Virgil Cook & Son Electrical in DeKalb installing traffic lights and signals for the city for more than 20 years.

Kofoid lived downtown above Lord Stanley’s and the Annex, 142 E. Lincoln Highway, for 10 years and said he saw Mason often and eventually befriended him.

“He had a routine that he kept pretty good,” Kofoid said. “He didn’t carry a phone. He was one of those guys where you could look about two or three places and if you didn’t see him odds are you weren’t going to.”

Mason didn’t have a set address listed in DeKalb, according to the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office.

“I didn’t poke too much into his life. I didn’t even know where he slept but I knew he was safe, and I didn’t need to poke the bear, you know?” Kofoid said. “If he wanted to talk about his situation, he knew I was open to talk about anything.”

What Kofoid said started as a mutual friendship blossomed into something greater, which included having coffee every morning at McDonald’s with Mason.

“A lot of our relationship was just general conversation,” Kofoid said. “He used to sit down at the lagoon for 12 hours a day and I would fish down there.”

At first, Kofoid said the friendship between the pair started so Mason had someone to talk to.

“He had 73 years of experience of stories,” Kofoid said. “And I just loved listening to all the crazy stories back in the 1960s and 1970s of him riding his Harley and the crazy stuff they did, and what he loved to do with his life before things got a little harder for him.”

Staff with Lord Stanley’s say they’re planning to honor Slick with a downtown memorial plaque they hope to have installed next week.

“Many people around town knew him as Slick, as did I, but we went on a first name basis. I called him Bill, and he would call me Nathan or just say ‘Hey how’s it going bud?’ ” Kofoid said. “He was such a nice guy. He always had a positive outlook. He never complained about his situation.”