William Burton “Bill” Sangster was born in Santa Barbara on May 24, 1928 to William Burton Sangster Sr, and Bertha Elizabeth Dirig. He was a direct descendant of many of the founding fathers of Santa Barbara and Southern California – the Pico, Lopez, Cota, Verdugo and Feliz families.
Bill grew up on Hope Avenue at Calvary Cemetery where his parents were the caretakers. He attended Hope Elementary School, San Roque Catholic School, La Cumbre Jr. High and Santa Barbara High School (Class of 1946). He entered the Navy after early graduation and was stationed in San Diego for his two years of service. After discharge, Bill worked for the Goleta Post Office, the US Forest Service and for the US Bureau of Reclamation as a surveyor for the Cachuma Dam Project. It was later, after marriage that Bill went to work as the superintendent of Calvary Cemetery, retiring after 45 years of service.
William was 12 years old when he met his future wife, Dorothy Anne Puerling (age 11). He knew at first sight that Dorothy was his “gal,” however Dorothy did not like “that Billy Sangster.” Luckily for us, our Mom ended up falling in love with our Dad and they wed on September 4, 1950, at San Roque Church.
Bill and Dorothy during their almost 71 years of marriage produced ten children and are survived by: John and Cindy (Vaughn) Sangster, Mary and William Gates, James and Debbie (Shaw) Sangster, Joseph Sangster, Anne and Terry Curtis, Clare and Chuck Theriot, William “Bill” Sangster, Suzanne and Tom Fletcher, Paul and Cynthia Sangster and David Sangster.
As if raising a family of ten and working full time did not keep our Dad busy enough, he found time to serve the Lord by teaching religion classes. Finding his true calling, he became one of the first lay Catholic deacons in Santa Barbara. As a deacon at San Roque and later, Our Lady of Sorrows, Bill performed many baptisms, marriages and burials for his Catholic friends and parishioners.
Later in life, when our Mom’s health started to fail, Dad became her tender, loving caregiver, even as his own strength declined. Dorothy passed away on January 26, 2021 and Bill missed her terribly. Not wanting to celebrate their 71st anniversary without her, our Dad quietly passed away in his sleep on September 2, 2021.
In addition to his ten children and their spouses, Bill is survived by 18 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and his half-sister Donna Sangster Dito. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Dorothy, his sister Marjory Mitchell, and brother George Sangster.
A Memorial Mass will be held for both William and Dorothy on Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 10:30 AM at San Roque Church. A private graveside service will be held at a later date.
