Bill Butterworth, of Turlock, was born in San Rafael to Mary and William Butterworth, Sr. on Jan. 27, 1933. He died at age 78 on March 4 at Emanuel Medical Center.
Bill’s family moved to Turlock in 1942, and he attended Hawthorne School and Turlock High School. After graduating in 1952, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy where he was stationed on the U.S.S. O’Brien DD725. After serving for two years he returned to Turlock and worked for Snider Buick Co.
Bill worked for Pacific Bell/AT&T for 39 years, where he met the love of his life, Ramona Beck. They were married in 1966. He was a volunteer firefighter for the City of Turlock for 17 years and rose to the rank of captain.
Bill loved to snowmobile and he and his family spent many happy times snowmobiling in the Sierras, Oregon and West Yellowstone. He also loved boating and fishing, and could often be found with his friends out on the delta or area lakes.
His door was always open, and as an avid barbecue chef, he found great pleasure in experimenting with new recipes and sharing good food and drink with his friends and family.
In retirement he liked to putter in the yard, grow vegetables and sit in the garage and visit with neighbors, which included treats for the neighborhood dogs.
He was especially involved with his grandchildren. He passed along his cooking skills to his eldest granddaughter Beth, who enjoys baking and cooking. He was a big fan and closely followed his youngest granddaughter Meghan’s college basketball games — go T-Birds! With his grandsons, Colin and Nicholas, he found great joy in sharing his train collection, all three spent hours together setting up tracks and running the trains. He also helped the boys with their various school projects.
Bill is survived by his wife, Ramona Butterworth; son, Dan (Laura) Ringer; daughter, Cindy (Lincoln) Carnes; granddaughters, Beth and Meghan Ringer; and grandsons, Colin and Nicholas Carnes.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 13 at Turlock Funeral Home, 425 N. Soderquist Rd., Turlock.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Bill Butterworth’s name may be sent to Turlock Library, Attn: Carol Blomquist, 550 N. Minaret, Turlock, CA 95380.
