William came into this world at the Old Soldiers Home in Leavenworth, Kansas, delivered by the hands of his grandfather, Dr. Frank G. Ellis. For a few short years, his family lived in Kansas City, until his father Vincent was a victim of a robbery where he was seriously injured, and his grand father passed away. His family moved west to Monterey Park, California to make a new start, using the settlement from the robbery incident and the recent death to buy a couple of rental properties to support the family. His family weathered the Great Depression on very little, but his grand mother kept the family together until Vincent was able to see again, and be able to support the family.
William enjoyed growing up in the small community of Monterey Park, and often described his antics with his best friend, Dick North, including a home-made hot-air balloon incident during WWII, which got them in trouble with the local authorities. William served in the Army from March 1946 until March 1947 at Fort Bliss, Texas, being discharged due to the end of the war. After several years at different jobs, including car repair and pest control, William was hired by IBM as a field service technician in 1956. William met Catherine Cahill in St Stephen’s choir about 1955 and they were married March 1, 1958. They had three sons, William, Kevin, and Brian, all born in the San Gabriel Valley area. After a health crisis in early 1971, William asked for a job transfer, and the family moved up to Goleta, buying a house that he would live in until his death. Many happy years followed the move, including participating in several community organizations as well as singing in the church choir at Our Lady of Sorrows church for a number of years. Arthritis curtailed some of his activities in the 80’s and ushered in his early retirement from IBM in 1990. Soon after his retirement, his condition improved, and he was able to do many things around the house and yard, which he so thoroughly enjoyed. The marriages of two of his sons in 1993 brought grandchildren, with whom he enjoyed playing with very much, especially in his back yard. He took the loss of his wife, Catherine, in March 2011 very badly and spent much of the year with ill health. 2012 brought a reprieve, and he was able to enjoy time together with the family, until his arthritis made movement difficult towards the end of the year. This year opened with hope for better times, but ill health soon followed, and after multiple trips to the hospital in the last few months, William passed away in his sleep at home, June 21st, 2013. He is survived by his sons William, Kevin (Laurie) and Brian (Paula), and grandchildren Christopher, Kaylie, Rebeca, and Sean. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Lyndall and Vincent, his sister, Betty and his wife, Catherine. He will be greatly missed by all of us.
Many thanks to Dr. Bruce McFadden, Dr. David Birken and Dr. Jeffrey Kupperman, as well as the Visiting Nurses and Personal Care Services (Paul Ballard, especially) for their help during his declining health. Visitation and Rosary will be held on Thursday, June 27th at Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapel in Goleta at 4 PM. A Funeral Mass will be held on June 28th at 10AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, followed by burial at Calvary Cemetery. Please visit www.wrhsb.com to leave an online memory of condolence. Arrangements by Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapels.
