C.W. Bill Denton

C.W. "Bill" Denton, 84, born on September 13, 1928, in Vincennes, Indiana, passed away December 4, 2012. He resided in Long Beach, California at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Long Beach, California. Now that you have the statistics, let us tell you a little of Bill's story. Bill's parents were Miriam Rohrscheib and Claude Denton. He had two sisters, Betty, two years older, and Mildred, one year older. Bill and his sisters lived with their parents until Bill was about 3 in the Detroit area. At that time Bill's father left home one night to buy some milk and never came home. Until today, no one really knows what happened to Bill's dad, where he went and why he never came back home. Bill's mother had a difficult time in supporting three young children alone during the depression so she bundled up the the siblings and got someone to drive her to Hazleton, Indiana where her parents lived in a small house on a small farm. Bill's mother left him and his two sisters with their grandparents, Jeanette and William Rohrscheib. The Rohrscheibs were not wealthy but the children always had clean clothes and food to eat. Bill's grandfather worked for the Railroad and was on the road most of the time so Grandma "was the boss". Bill and his sisters had many adventures living with their Grandparents and they loved Jeanette and William very much. Their mother seldom came to visit but on occasion she would send presents. When Bill was 9 years old, his mother came back picked him up and took him to live with her and the girls in Detroit. Little is known of the time spent with his mother but at some point they moved to Florida, however Bill said that he never liked Florida.

At 17 years old, Bill decided to join the Army; that was 1945 and World War II was still going on. After basic training he was send to Europe and spent the next two years serving both in the Artillery Corp and as a Military Policeman after the fighting ended. He was discharged in 1947 but re-enlisted 9 days later and served during the Korean War. Bill was very proud of his Military service to his country. He was Discharged and Re-enlisted no less then 5 times with his final discharge from the United States Army Reserve as a Sargent on January 31st, 1961 with a total service of 16 years.

In 1953 Bill took some of what he had learned in the Army and began work at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard as an Electrician. He worked at the shipyard until 1980 in a number of positions ending as an Electrical Supervisor. Over those 27 years of additional service to his country, Bill has passed along many a story about what went on and how crazy it sometime is to be working for big government. Many of those stories could not be written down here as children might be reading this personal history. I know Bill enjoyed his time at the shipyard and was very angry when the Government decided to close down Long Beach, which was the only profitable shipyard on the West Coast.

Now for some things that you may not have known about Bill. In the early 1960s, Bill thought it might be fun to learn to sky dive. Now to all of us who knew him we know that the name Bill Denton and the term sky diving do not belong in the same sentence. But to Bill, it sounded like a good idea. He went to Lake Elsinore and enrolled in a sky diving class. He finished his ground school and had completed his required jump with his instructor. It was time for his first solo jump. Everything went as planned until he jumped out of the airplane. He pulled his rip cord, the chute deployed and promptly got tangled in itself and would not open. Bill remembered his training and cut the chute loose and pulled the handle on the back up chute. It opened at about 200 feet, just soon enough to slow his fall. He walked away with some bruises and bumps and an entirely new appreciation for solid ground. He felt that someone was trying to tell him to find a new hobby. After this experience, he felt that this was pretty good advice. He never strapped on a parachute ever again.

Bill loved to camp and travel. In 1968 he and the family traveled to Canada via car and each evening they would find a nice spot and pitch a tent for the night. He loved Death Valley. He liked to go to antique Car Shows and he never missed a chance to attend an Air Show or tour a Naval Vessel that was moored in Long Beach Harbor. He was a big S.C. Football fan (Go Trojans). Bill was always there to help folks in need. He had a real problem saying NO if someone needed help. He volunteered to serve as a Trustee at his Belmont Heights United Methodist Church. We was always changing light bulbs or trying to unplug a backed up sewer line. He never complained but instead just did what was needed. Bill went back to college and studied Real Estate. He gained a lot of valuable knowledge which served him well when he had to make decisions regarding the properties. Bill and his step-son Greg have been two bachelors living together for two decades, ever since Bill's wife, Ina Fay, passed away. These two guy were as close as any two people could be. I know Greg will feel the loss hardest of all. He not only lost a father; he has lost his best friend.

Bill is survived by his Sister Betty, nieces Paula and Donna , his step-daughter Kathy, his step-sons Gregory and Gordon, and a number of step-grandchildren and step-great grandchildren. He is also survived by any number of friends, family, Brother Elk members and just people who knew and appreciated him.

He was a Good Man and he Loved his Lord. In the final analysis, that is a good way for any of us to be remembered.

REST IN PEACE, BILL DENTON!