William E Wilber of Sacramento, died peacefully at home on May 27, 2020. He was 89.
Born Joseph Hartley in Sacramento on December 30, 1930 to John Hartley and Helen Apathy. Adopted by Everett Sidney Wilber and Mamie Bell Anderson in 1933. William, “Billy Bounce” spent his early years living on the Sacramento River at his family’s landing in Broderick. Many happy times were spent as a part of the boat racing community. His Mother ran the “Tahiti”, a bar and grill on a barge at the landing, where Billy became quite the showman – singing and dancing with all the customers. His family later moved to downtown Sacramento where they had a boat motor repair shop. He attended Sac High and was a member of the band. After the death of his father, he and his mother moved to Cedar City, Utah where he finished high school. He was a cheerleader and voted “Best Boy” his senior year. He served in the US Navy from 1951 to 1954, where he was a corpsman at both the Naval Hospital in San Diego and on the USS Hanson. He met Pat on a blind date during his last year of service. Bill became Catholic and they were married September 25, 1954. They settled in Fair Oaks in 1957 and Bill worked as a diesel mechanic. Together they raised 4 kids. Bill was very active in his church, Holy Family Parish. He sang in the choir and served in the Knights of Columbus. At many Parish Festivals, he could be found behind the mic as the emcee all weekend! Bill and Pat were parent “Advisors” to the high school youth in CYO. In CYO Bill directed plays and variety shows. He chaperoned many events and loved to camp, pulling the water skiers behind his boat! They purchased a cabin at Lake Tahoe in 1976, where they later lived for 10 years of their retirement. His passion for music was known by all who met him. A happy man with a song in his heart. William is survived by his wife Patricia, sons Marc (Linda) and Tim (Trudy) and daughters Kim Finney (Peter) and Jan Frazier (Kelly), grandchildren and great grandchildren.
“Somewhere blue birds are singing…”
Friends are invited to attend the Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, July 9, 2020 at 10:00AM at Holy Family Catholic Church, 7817 Old Auburn Rd, Citrus Heights, CA., with interment to follow at 12:00PM at Calvary Cemetery, 7101 Verner Ave, Citrus Heights. There is a limit of 50 people that can attend the mass, so for those who wish to attend, please email William's daughter Jan Frazier at j5frazier@yahoo.com, so she can put you on the list.
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