William “Bill” H celebrated his 100th birthday on October 23rd at Eskaton Village Carmichael.
Bill feels fortunate to part of an amazing family. He was raised as an only child by a single mother during the Great Depression. After time in the military as a young man, he used his GI bill to study business at the University of California Berkeley.
In 1938, Bill landed a job in San Francisco with Standard Oil Company. They were looking for young men to work overseas. Bill worked as a clerk alongside lawyers in the legal department where he enjoyed learning the legal and business side of the company.
When WWII began, Bill and his co-workers were pulled into the Naval Reserve and shipped overseas to Saudi Arabia for a two-year tour. After returning home, Bill stayed with Standard Oil for a while before switching careers to pharmaceutical outside sales where he eventually retired.
Bill played tennis practically every day and was a part of several tennis clubs. One of his favorite memories is when he began the hobby of radio controlled planes. In Oakland, Bill and his friends flew their vintage model English, German, and American WWII era planes that they built from kits. He remembers the thrill of controlling his own plan and having it do what ever he wanted.
