NUCLA, Colo. (KREX) — The Nucla cold case involving Dale Williams has made national news ever since Dan Bishop was arrested for alleged first-degree murder. WesternSlopeNow has shown you an in-depth look at the affidavit, court hearing updates and immediate backstory of Williams before his disappearance. Now there's a new angle to the story from two people directly affected. In an exclusive interview since Bishop's arrest, WesternSlopeNow's Timber Schuman shares the story and perspective of Dale's two daughters, Tonee Lawrence and Sara Luster.
Tonee and Sara shared with WesternSlopeNow an excerpt written by Ailene Smith, a close family friend and former neighbor to Dale Williams. Here is her piece...
"The Man I Knew
There are people in this life I have been tied to; the following is a tapestry of interwoven memories I have had for the past 40+ years. There is so much to say about the man, Dale Williams. He was not just a father, husband, and son, but a man of many facets. He was a neighbor who always had a smile on his face, a brother who was always there for you, and a dear friend who could make you laugh even in the toughest times. Shortly after Dale Williams graduated from high school in the late seventies, he and his new bride, Diana Flora, moved next door to us. We lived on Grape Street in Nucla, a bustling neighborhood that was very populated in those days. It was a time when kids played in the streets and everyone knew each other. My brother Gary and I quickly learned that Dale was a kid in an adult's body. He was mischievous and enjoyed the same things we did: skateboarding, water balloon fights, and bowling. Dale and Diane would take the neighborhood kids skateboarding down by the old Gambles building, and on Friday nights they would take us bowling at the Cedar Bowl. Dale looked like a carbon copy of John Denver in the 1970s. He had the same wire-rimmed glasses, and my uncle Mark would refer to him as "Cottontop" because of his white blonde hair. One of the most enduring memories of Dale for my mom was a Halloween when Gary had waited for his friends to go Trick or Treating, and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Gary was bummed, and I, of course, was a little too cool to take my 9-year-old brother with me. Dale never gave a thought; he told Gary, "C'mon, let's go! We have houses to Trick or Treat!" Gary came home that night with the most enormous pillowcase bag of candy I have ever seen! Dale's compassion for a dejected nine-year-old will always live in my memory and bring me to tears, just like it did my mom. In the winter of 1980, Dale and Diane were blessed with a daughter, Tonee, whom I would come to know and love like my own. Oh, how I would spoil her rotten! This was my first babysitting job, and honestly, it wasn't work at all. I loved her, and she loved me! Dale and Diane loved to square dance. I know you're probably shocked by that, but remember, this was the 70s/early 80s. So I would babysit on those nights. Tonee was a feisty little thing as she grew into an independent two-year-old. One night, we were at the body shop in the back of the house on Grape Street, and that defiant little two-year-old was sassing her dad, whom she called "Dao." She couldn't say her "L's" yet, and she had gotten an orange soda from the pop machine. It was in a glass bottle, and Dale was telling her, "No, you can't have that before bed!" Tonee, in all her defiance, told him, "Dao, you are not the boss!" I knew she was going to inform him her mom was the boss, and a light spanking might ensue when she accidentally dropped that bottle and the glass shattered, and it saved the defiant two-year-old! I giggle every time I think of that memory. A few years pass, and they are blessed with another daughter, Sara. This one stole my heart as well. Sara had the biggest blue eyes and white blond hair just like her dad. And just like that, my babysitting duties grew just as the love in my heart did for my two little girls. The girls were young when Dale got them a trampoline. Sara was tiny, as I recall. I remember she got bounced off the trampoline and it gave her a bloody nose, but Sara, or Sar-bear as I would call her, was as determined as her dad and got right back on that trampoline! I always thought Dale bought these things so he could enjoy them as much as the kids. He would be walking up from the shop to the house, casually jump on the trampoline, and then get off and go in the house. It was just a part of his fun-loving nature. As I've stated he was an avid prankster and a Halloween fan. Dale was an artist and before the art of pumpkin carving was a thing, he had already perfected it. Their pumpkins were amazing and their house was fun to trick or treat because of the giant horn he would sound to scare the kids. One year he ran out of candy, but it was fine because he had saved the girls Easter candy and just handed out that in place of the Halloween stuff. I gave up fixing my hair in the summer as a teenager because a water balloon was destined to find its way into our yard while I would surf my Seventeen magazine in my lawn chair. If he only knew how hard I worked at straightening my hair, but it wouldn't have mattered, pranks were what mattered! But rest assured, at the ripe old age of 14 I hid behind our Vega car and got even with him for dousing my magazine! Of course that was when the gloves came off and he just sprayed us all down with the hose. Oh, Grape Street in the 80s was fun with a neighbor like Dale! In many of my wayward decisions as a teenager, it would be Dale and Diane who would come to my rescue. When I ran away from home, (alcohol and poor decisions) it would be both of them that came to pick me up and bring me home. Dale was angry with me and I had scared Diane half to death. But they both hugged me and told me they loved me when they dropped me off at home. Not just neighbors, and at this point, not even just friends, they were family to me. One of the fondest memories for my kids was in the 90s when Dale found a Santa suit and this was possibly one of his greatest roles to play. He had an El Camino with his Pro-Body shop logo on it and he would drive around dressed as Santa and go door to door of all the families he knew and give the kids gifts to keep the spirit of Santa alive. I remember 5-year-old Mikael asking me, "Mom, did Santa borrow Dale's car because his sleigh broke down?" To which I told him, "I think he hit a deer and it's in the shop." The five-year-old took it in stride and said, "Okay." There are so many memories fleeting through my mind right now, but the compassion he would always show stands out the most. I had a fenderbender down at the bank, it wasn't my fault and it didn't really do any damage to my car, but Freddie was upset with me over it. I took the car to Dale and he buffed out the scratch. I wasn't crying but I was visibly upset and Dale told me, "Ailene, it's no big deal and you just watch and see how this comes back, I'm telling you, it's a boomerang effect, what goes around comes around and Freddie will ding up his vehicle and you will hold it over his head. Or maybe you won't, but you should just a little, okay?" And then he laughed and put his arm around me and gave me a side hug with his mischievous wink. And sure enough, Freddie hit a deer the following week! (Dale was right, and I showed more grace than Freddie did 🙂 So many memories of lives entwined always in the back of my mind. That fateful day in 1999 when suddenly he was just gone. I have questions, I've always had them, but tonight, all that I can think of is how senseless it is that he's not here. He doesn't get to see those two beautiful girls and the children they've raised. And it breaks my heart all over again. The man I knew was worth knowing, I called him neighbor, friend, and brother and my life is better for having known him ❤️."