William Albert Goodfellow

            February 20, 1929 – May 16, 2014

Thank you for being a part of Bill’s life.  Our dad was a great letter writer, so in his honor, we will give it a try:

Bill was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he enjoyed a loving childhood as an only child to working-class parents.  He worked summers on the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey as a teen then attended the University of Pennsylvania where he received a degree in Civil Engineering. 

He was drafted into the Army for 2 years but, thankfully, never saw active duty in Korea.  His Army adventures turned into great stories and he made lifelong friends during his service.

He moved to Southern California after the Army and began his career with the Los Angeles County Road Department.  He married our mom, Nancy, had 3 children and lived a great life in the suburbs. Together they put all 3 kids through college and graduate schools.  He enjoyed a healthy, active life of travel, hiking, camping, swimming and boogie boarding.

He was fortunate enough to retire young and moved to Huntington Beach to continue his life as a beach bum.  After 38 years of marriage, he and Nancy separated peacefully.  In retirement Bill took up bowling and golf.  He met Mariko who became his long-term partner even though she always out-bowled him.  They enjoyed movies and travelled together for many years.  At 70 years old he was still boogie boarding in the ocean.  At 84 years of age, he was still going to the gym on a regular basis.

In March of this year we found out that his kidney cancer from 8 years ago had returned.  We were sad and shocked to lose him so quickly but find peace in the fact that he did not suffer a long illness and was able to remain in his own home, with family by his side. 

He will be dearly missed by his family:

Nancy and Hoy

Mariko Brown

Mark and Linda Goodfellow and granddaughters Marla and Kelly

Bruce Goodfellow

Janet (Goodfellow) and David Golden and granddaughters Jordan and Jaden