1976 (#18) - The painful choice of Liz and Bill’s death

Taken urgently to the emergency room and connected to a ventilator, when Bill regained consciousness he asked Brock to write his eulogy and Jill to watch over the mother and her baby; afterwards, he begged a grieving Liz to remove the support that allowed him to stay alive, just as he had declared in his will. Seeing her husband in great pain, Liz decides to go against everything she would ever do, against her God, against herself and her sense of justice and humanity; Liz decides to act just as her husband had asked her to, with that act of love that she does not approve of either. In the end, Liz watched Bill's distraught face go into his eternal sleep more and more peacefully and relaxed, feeling a sense of self-hatred but convinced that she had respected her husband's last will and testament. Upon hearing the news of her death, Jill, Greg and Snapper are desperate and all the Fosters support an inconsolable Liz, who nevertheless does not confess to anyone that she pulled the plug on her husband.

1976 (#15) - Biological will and the deterioration of Bill’s disease

The joy in the Foster house that there was in recent times is soon destined to disappear. When the hospital treatment for Bill's cancer becomes too expensive, the man decides to stop insisting on medicines and at the same time to stop smoking, not hiding the intention, at his death, to donate his organs. Taken to the hospital, Bill then draws up a living will in which he expresses his will, in addition to donating organs, not to be resuscitated in the event of a respiratory crisis; he therefore orders the doctors not to want any therapeutic treatment on him. In addition, Bill writes a letter of gratitude to Katherine, for paying his medical expenses, to be delivered to her after his death; he also writes a series of letters to give to Phillip Jr. at each of his birthdays until he turns twenty-one. Just when Bill thinks he could have gone home for the last time, the man suffers a severe relapse due to a pulmonary emphysema that causes him a severe respiratory crisis.

1976 (#12) - Brock’s advices, support to Liz and conciliation between Jill and Katherine

Put aside her judicial struggles, and after Jill's attempt at revenge, Katherine goes back to drinking again. Brock, the eternal optimist, tries to convince her mother to do something good with her life, for example by helping Fosters themselves, who are in difficult financial situations. Jill, meanwhile, is willing to pledge her jewels in an attempt to allow her parents to go to Arizona, where the climate is better, to allow Bill to fight emphysema. However, Bill is firmly opposed, confirming his willingness not to fight against his disease but only to live with them all the last days he has left. Brock seems to have convinced Katherine to help the Fosters, at least for Phillip Jr. and her late husband, when in the meantime it is Liz herself who comes to Katherine to beg her to be hired as her housekeeper. Katherine, still deeply wounded in her pride, thus accepts the woman's heartfelt request and decides to arrange a meeting with Jill to smooth things over between the two. Katherine thus decides to give up little Phillip, to Jill's delight. Thanks also to Brock's words, Katherine agrees to help the Fosters by paying for Bill's medical and hospital expenses. The reconciliation between the Fosters and Katherine, moreover, is further strengthened when Katherine, convinced by Brock, Liz and Bill, decides to donate some funds to a center for the elderly where Liz, Bill and Brock work as volunteers. Everyone is moved to be able to help these poor people and their community center.

1976 (#10) - Legal battle between Jill and Katherine for the custody of Phillip Jr

Jill, happy not to have given away Phillip Jr., but at the same time worried that she did not have enough money to provide the little one with an adequate life, decides with Greg's support to take Katherine to court to obtain a portion of Phillip's estate, exactly half, which is due to the unborn child as his illegitimate son. In the meantime, however, it is Katherine herself, persuaded by Brock, to put her hand on her heart and let herself be persuaded to create a trust fund for the unborn child. All the good intentions of the woman, however, disappear at the very moment when she is summoned by Jill. Angry at the woman's misbehavior, Katherine comes before the judge and declares that she does not believe that Phillip Chancellor is the father of Jill's baby, who was married to Brock at the time of conception; an accusation that hurts Jill, who found herself in the night screaming and sobbing at the woman who was hindering in any way her ability to live happily. It is Brock, at this point, to put himself against the mother again to try to stop the hatred between the two women; Brock, before the judge, is so forced to testify that he cannot be the father of the child since he never consummated his marriage to Jill. In addition, Brock informs the judge of the mother's previous offer to acquire custody of the child. In the end, while acknowledging Phillip's paternity, and despite Brock's testimony in favor of Jill, the judge once again agrees with Katherine, resolving the dispute in her favor and rejecting Jill's request because Phillip Jr was illegitimate because he was born in a marriage that was null. Angry and furious at having achieved nothing, Jill thus plots a new revenge against Katherine by taking advantage of her weakness for alcohol, a tunnel from which she seems to have emerged. By making her find a bottle of liquor in the house, left voluntarily by Jill, a distraught Katherine, grieved for all the negative events that have happened in the last two years of her life, lets herself be carried away by alcohol again and starts drinking again. Jill's plan is to get the woman drunk to make her believe that the reality was the same as always, with her still married to Phillip and punctually bored and tired of living, and then put her to drive in a state of drunkenness dangerous for her. When Liz realizes what Jill is planning to do, she tries to reason with her daughter by insisting that she had to end her dirty plan immediately, but when Jill goes back to Katherine to tell her everything, she finds her drunk. In the end, an astonished Brock arrives, incredulous in the face of the cruelty shown by Jill, which prevents Katherine from getting into the car and performing any action dangerous to her. He then decides to bring her back to reality by taking her to Phillip's grave, where Katherine realizes everything she has lost and begins a desperate weeping.

1976 (#5) - Reconciliation with Snapper e il renewal of bows between Bill and Liz

The misfortunes of the Foster family, who have been fighting for months now with the powerful and rich Katherine, among other things has allowed Liz and Bill to get very close again. After all, since Bill's return, Liz had put aside any other sentimental intrusion to devote herself to her husband and concentrate on that marriage that for her, and not only for the law, was never over. Though very skeptical at first, both Jill and Greg soon welcomed their father into their arms, moved by the knowledge that he would soon die and wanting to fill that void of affection left empty for years. The only one who does not miss his father, and indeed increases his hatred for the man, is Snapper, the eldest of his sons. In all these years the greatest responsibility of the family has fallen on him because of the departure of his father, responsibilities that have forced him to grow up and become a man perhaps too quickly. That is probably why Snapper does not accept that Bill should now be welcomed back into the family. As time goes by, however, Bill shows that he respects his son's position and does not want to ask his forgiveness; however, knowing that his life is coming to an end, he asks Snapper to give him the time he has left as a real family. That is why he asks his son to be his best man at the wedding, or rather at the renewal of his vows, between him and Liz. Snapper, although reluctant, eventually accepts his father's requests and in an intimate and touching ceremony, all the Fosters find themselves perhaps for the first time truly united by love.

1976 (#4) - Katherine’s offering, the birth of Phillip Jr. and Jill’s refusal

Now that Jill was no longer recognized as Mrs. Chancellor because of the declaration of nullity of her marriage to Phillip, she realized thanks also to Greg that her son would be born illegitimate. And it is the unborn child that Jill is carrying that represents the next step in Katherine's revenge plan. The woman, who wanted legal custody of the child, therefore offered Jill $1 million to obtain the waiver of all claims to the unborn child. Jill was undecided what to do and asked Katherine for time to think about it. Seeing the difficult economic situation in her family, with Liz and Greg struggling to make a living while caring for Bill, increasingly in poor health, Jill accepted Katherine's offer without talking to anyone. Meanwhile, the birth of the baby is getting closer and closer, an event that everyone in the family has been waiting for for a long time. The feelings felt by Jill in the moments when Phillip Jr. was born, a name given in memory of her late father, excite the girl who, as soon as she holds her son in her hands for the first time, decides she cannot accept Katherine's offer and therefore refuses it. On hearing the news, Katherine gets angry with Jill, but when the woman's proposal comes out, everyone takes Jill's side, first of all her family : Liz and Bill, and Brock himself, who tries to make Katherine give up all her ambition for the child, trying rather to convince her, in vain, to help Jill and her family without any personal interest but only for the love of her late husband Phillip.

1976 (#1) - Invalidity of the wedding with Phillip and trial between Katherine and Jill

Now that Jill was Mrs. Chancellor, she had access to everything that belonged to her late husband Phillip, including his financial assets and the Chancellors' property. Still angry with Katherine over the death of her husband, Jill, with little delicacy and without a second thought, chased Katherine out of the Chancellors' mansion. The whole Foster family soon moved into the mansion. Initially, Jill's family felt uncomfortable, not being accustomed to that luxury and being cared for by servants, but eventually they began to get used to the idea of enjoying their life in their new comfortable home. Bill was very happy to be able to spend the last months of his life peacefully in the care and love that he had given up for years, and Jill was satisfied to be able to assure the child she was carrying a comfortable life. In the meantime, however, Katherine, initially convinced to return to New Jersey, from where her family had originally come to get in touch with her first love, Charles Diamont, soon changed her mind, determined to regain her home. With this goal in mind, Katherine is ready to start a year of hard legal battles against her bitter enemy Jill. With the support of her lawyer Mitchell Sherman, Gwen's brother and Greg's acquaintance having met many times in court, Katherine's first step was to prove that Phillip and Jill were not legally married. Katherine testifies before the judge that she was forced to sign the divorce papers while under the influence of alcohol, despite Jill's opposition and Greg's attempt to talk to Mitchell to persuade Katherine to drop the case. In the end, the judge agreed with Katherine, declaring Jill and Phillip's marriage null and void and allowing Katherine to regain possession of Phillip's inheritance. Jill and her family were thus evicted from the mansion where they had lived after Phillip's death, and forced to return to live in their old, humble home.

1975 (#17) - Sam takes a step back and the reunion between Bill and Liz

The development of events in the Foster family forced Sam to take a step back in his relationship with Liz. Sam understands that he has to make room for Bill and his return to Genoa City, understanding that he must break off his relationship with Liz at least until Bill's death. Liz reassures his love for Sam, and so he promises to wait for her to get back with her. Meanwhile, however, Bill slowly manages to regain his family's trust, and Greg and Jill live happy moments with their father. Liz is happy to have her husband back in the house, despite the fact that this was caused by Bill's illness; and soon the woman is forced to admit that she never stopped loving the man, who, however, repeatedly insists that he does not want to interfere in the relationship between Sam and Liz, inciting the woman not to give up her feelings for Sam. Liz, however, is now convinced of her decision to leave Sam, feeling she is still married to Bill. Sam certainly doesn't like it, and he asks Liz again to confirm his commitment; and when Liz doesn't respond to his marriage proposal, the man decides he can't be the woman's second choice and decides to leave for a job in Kansas City, determined to forget the woman.

1975 (#12) - Bill’s returns to the family, the cancer and the conflict with Snapper

As always, the Foster family's affairs were linked to economic problems. The relationship between Jill and Phillip put Liz's job at risk at Chancellor Industries, now worried about not being able to afford her expenses. It was in this situation that Snapper's anger grew against his father Bill, who had abandoned them nine years earlier in a very difficult situation. And if in the meantime Liz seemed to have regained emotional serenity with Sam, economic stability was still in the way. And so, when it came time to pay the insurance Bill left outstanding, a furious Snapper, in agreement with Greg and Jill, suggested that Liz should declare their father dead, closing forever that chapter of their lives. The woman, who after all has always hoped for a return of the man, finally agrees to declare Bill dead, also under pressure from Sam, who wants to make his union with Liz official with a marriage. It is at this very moment, however, that a letter with the postmark indicating the Chicago code arrives unexpectedly: it was Bill. In the letter, the man confesses that he is seriously terminally ill with cancer and wants to spend the last days of his life with his family. Greg and Snapper, that are close to their mother as they are angry to their father, tried to convince Liz not to answer Bill's request. She can't say no to the one true love of her life and decides to welcome him into their home, in a final gesture of loving pity and charity. Once home, Bill asks his family for forgiveness for the weakness he has shown all these years, a weakness interpreted by Greg and Snapper as neglect and betrayal of his only family. In the end, however, Bill manages to convince both his wife Liz and their children Greg and Jill to give him a few moments of joy before the emphysema in his lung would lead to his death. The only one who did not welcome his father into the family, is Snapper, furious because Bill abandoned them all these years.

1973 (#2) - The Foster Family

Liz Henderson works hard to get her family ahead. Ever since her husband left her and their three children, she has worked in a factory in order to give them a better life. Liz is a humble woman who has never complained about the many difficulties that life has thrown her and that has the tendency to ignore her own needs to focus on her role as a mother; a kind and honest person with an unwavering fortitude who has earned the respect and friendship of many. Snapper, the eldest of the children, is a young aspiring doctor and also very charming who, on top of studying medicine, often works part-time jobs to support the family; then there is Greg, a young law student, and Jill, a very extroverted girl who instead of studying has always preferred to work and help her mother.