William Johnson

Bill Johnson was born on August 14, 1948, in Oakland, California, and grew up in Van Nuys, California, as the youngest of four siblings. Bill passed away on February 26, 2023. He resided on Naples Island in Long Beach, California at the time of his passing.

Bill was an avid sailor since his youth, and loved racing his sailboat, Growlie, in Alamitos Bay. He had a passion for music including The Beatles and all kinds of folk artists, and he played the guitar for over 60 years. Bill loved traveling the world with his wife, Lynn, making many trips to their favorite city, Paris, over their 46 years together. He also loved food and wine. Bill was a terrific cook with many specialties, but one fan favorite was his amazing BBQ ribs. Bill and Lynn tasted and collected wine from Napa to Paso to Tuscany to the South of France, and Bill was an expert on almost every varietal.

Prior to retirement, Bill enjoyed a long career as an employee benefits professional, working for great entertainment companies including AEG, House of Blues and Warner Bros.

Bill was loved and will be fondly remembered by countless friends and family, his cats Maggie May and Ziggy Stardust, and most of all by Lynn, his loving wife of 38 years.

Bill had a great love of animals big and small. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one or more of Bill's favorite causes:

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/donate

World Wildlife Fund: https://www.worldwildlife.org 

Big Cat Rescue: https://bigcatrescue.org/donate/

Stray Cat Alliance: https://straycatalliance.org