Willis “Bill” Frambach 1924-2021
On Tuesday, July 14, just one day after his 71st wedding anniversary, the Frambach family lost their hero, a magnificent man, a loyal, loving husband, a devoted father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and a true friend.
Willis “Bill” Frambach died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 96.
Bill was born in Patterson, New Jersey, on Nov. 2 ,1924. From a very young age, Bill had a fascination for how things worked and a thirst for knowledge. While attending high school, he read the entire set of The Encyclopedia Britannica and retained much of the facts and information in those volumes for most of his life.
Bill loved to build and fix radios. As fate would have it, his ham radio licensing exam was cancelled, as it was scheduled for Dec. 8, 1941–the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Bill attended Rutgers University prior to and after serving in World War II and excelled on the wrestling team. He later transferred to UCLA to study marketing, and that is where he met the love of his life, Ann, whom he married on July 13, 1950, after they both graduated from UCLA in 1949.
Early in their marriage, Bill spent a year and a half serving in Korea in the Signal Corps and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant.
Bill was an entrepreneur. He started his own business selling industrial fasteners and later started another business manufacturing high-quality lowvoltage lighting. He subsequently attended law school and had a successful career in family law and personal injury.
As a father, the word “incredible” barely describes how wonderful and devoted he was. He always stressed education, but never pushed. He gently encouraged all his children to be the best they could be. With that encouragement and support, Don and Bruce became medical doctors; Julie became an attorney; and Mary became a Ph.D. psychologist.
Bill always loved music. He taught himself to play the guitar and to sing, but initially lacked polish.
Bill and Ann moved to Leisure World, Seal Beach, in 1994. They immediately became very involved in the community. Bill had always loved to sing and play music, but at Leisure World, his musicality blossomed. He treasured the experiences he had and the friendships he developed, in singing and performing groups including the Chorale, the Barbershop Quartet, the Ad Hoc Singing Group (which he founded) and the Theater Club. What he lacked in vocal range he made up for with unbounded enthusiasm and a passion for the center stage.
Bill was also active in the Sunshine Club, The Y’s Men’s Service Club and the Rollin’ Thunder Club. Until health problems prohibited it, Bill would help serve meals for “Meals on Wheels” and helped The Rolling Rolling Thunder Club service golf carts. He also loved volunteering with the Y’s Men to offer free assistance installing, repairing or adjusting all sorts of items (as his children thought he could fix anything by taking it to his tool bench in the “ga-grage”).
Bill was also CFO of Mutual 12 and enjoyed the service he provided in that role.
Bill loved his life with Ann at Leisure World. He would often describe it as “resort living on the cheap.” He thoroughly enjoyed many of the amenities. In their early days, Ann and Bill would do such activities as water aerobics in the pool and walk around in the beautiful surroundings. When walking became difficult, he would work out at the gym. He was again able to walk around Leisure World with his beloved UpWalker; up until very recently, he would proudly clock 1.5-plus miles per day consistently.
Bill cherished spending time with his family. No matter what he and Ann had planned in their busy schedule, at the drop of a hat, all plans were suspended when any of his children and grandchildren came to visit.
More than a bit of a jokester, he wasn’t above conspiring with his daughter-in-law Anna in slipping a dribble glass in front of prospective new family members as an initiation prank.
He told his favorite joke often, which was a response to the question “How did you sleep?” He would reply, “I don’t know, I was unconscious.”
Family get-togethers would generally include singing at least one of his old standards, like “The Wreck of the Old ‘97,” “Clementine” and “The Wabash Cannon Ball.”
Bill’s tireless love and devotion to his wife and the rest of his family was evident throughout his life, his big heart, unparalleled; his keen wit, priceless; and his place in his families’ lives, irreplaceable.
To honor Bill’s memory, friends and members of the community are invited to join the Frambach family for a celebration of life at a date and location that is yet to be determined.
Bill is survived by his wife, Ann Frambach; his children, Donald Frambach (Mary Christine), Bruce Frambach (Anna Nieto), Julie Frambach Bigelow (Don) and Mary Frambach Tayal (Joe Heitman); his grandchildren, Eliza Hook, Stephen, Caroline, Heather and Ryan Frambach, Jillian Zitting (Louie), Rajan and Sita Tayal; and his great-grand children Alexis Bruhn, Lucas and Annalise Zitting. He is predeceased by his parents Arthur and Helen Frambach.
–paid obituary
