William “Bill” Stollar was born June 8, 1940 in South Gate California where he lived with his Father, Mother and Brother, John. When he was 4, the family moved to San Gabriel, California. He attended catholic schools until high school at which time he was enrolled in San Gabriel High. Bill enjoyed school and excelled in math where his math scores made him fourth in the nation. Life for his family was hard and they usually lacked funds, Bill needed a jacket and he decided that if he joined sports in High School, he might be able to get on Varsity and get a lettermen jacket. With this goal in mind, he became a competitor in sports. He was a superb athlete and made Varsity for baseball, track and football, where he became an All-American, playing the position of Tight End. In his senior year of high school, Bill transferred to Villanova Prep and was named Captain of the football team.
Bill was accepted into the University of Southern California where he was working towards a degree in Business. Unfortunately at this time, Bill’s father passed away when he was 22 and he had to drop out of college to assist his Mom. Bill was able to get a job in the printing business to help his Mom with the family expenses. In March of ’63, Bill’s brother, John talked him into a double date with two ladies from the local beauty college. Bill wasn’t thrilled about going on a blind date, but decided to go anyways. It was on this date that Bill met Lana; the woman that he would spend the rest of his life with.
Bill and Lana dated for several months and in August of ’63, while out to dinner at The Peppermill, Bill proposed to Lana using a Crackerjack’s Box for dessert and the engagement ring was the prize. Bill and Lana were married on February 1, 1964 at the San Gabriel Mission. Bill loved Lana completely, was deeply devoted to her and was passionate about his “beautiful, perfect bride, Fella”. They were married for 48 years, 2 months and 6 days. Bill and Lana had what many family and friends would later describe as a “Forever type of love”.
In the fall of ’65, Lana presented Bill with a gift wrapped box with a rubber ducky inside, to let him know he was going to be a father. June of ’66, William Patrick was welcomed into the Stollar household. In July of ’67, Bill was blessed with his second son, Kurt John. Then in February of ’69, Julie Janene came into the world. Eight years later, Bill was blessed with his second daughter in May of ’77, Jennifer Jill. The Stollar family was now complete! He was extremely proud of each of his kids and the many accomplishments they have made in their lives. Each one of them was a treasure in his mind and heart.
In the late 1960’s Bill was involved in Crackerbox Boat racing. Crackerbox Boats were designed for a two man crew to include the Driver and the Mechanic. Bill was the mechanic on “Lemon Crate” which was owned and driven by Art Field. Bill was critically injured in July of 1969 when the Crackerbox flipped during an inboard competition at Long Beach Marine Stadium. Shortly after this incident, Bill quit racing. By this time he had a young family and he made the conscious decision that it was more important for his kids to have a father than not.
Bill loved coaching his son’s baseball teams in Arcadia, California or teaching them how to do projects around the house. He also participated in his daughter’s school and extracurricular activities such as Indian Princess’s or Girl Scouts. Throughout his entire life Bill loved sports and followed the local teams. He also enjoyed watching the history channels on TV, and restoring / flipping houses.
During Bill’s lifetime he worked at Autographics in California as a manager of typesetting and printing of Zondervan Bibles and later owned his own business, Personal Dynamics, providing printing, developing, designing, and advertising, for restaurants and other companies. In the late ‘90’s, Bill changed career paths and went into real estate and became an agent selling residential and commercial properties. He had a very generous spirit and loved to help young couples get into their first home and would use some of his commission from the sale to assist them and make sure they were off to a good start.
When Bill was in his early 30’s, he started to read the Bible, having come from a Catholic background in which the Priest read from the Bible, the Bible was a new window into a new area of thoughts and feelings that had never been opened to him before. The Word of the Lord started to open up to him and the truth of It was revealed. After watching his wife’s faith in Christ for years, he decided to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He participated in numerous Bible studies in Sierra Madre, Mission Hills, NorthShore Baptist, and Woodinville Alliance during his life.
Bill had a wonderful laugh, gregarious personality, an eager smile and a firm hand shake.
He will be missed by many and will always be in our hearts.
Bill is survived by his wife, Lana, two sons, Bill and Kurt and two daughters, Julie and Jennifer, two daughters-in-law, Donna and Kristine, and one son-in-law, Dale, and nine grandkids, Breanna, Brandon, Shawnessey, Justin, Caiden, Jasmine, Jarret, Danica, and Jack.
There will be a Memorial Service at NorthShore Baptist Church (NSB.org) on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 11:00am. NorthShore Baptist Church is located at 10301 NE 145th St Kirkland, WA 98034.
Donations in Bill’s memory may be directed to:
NorthShore Baptist Church Benevolent Fund
