William Charles Harding Jr. was born on March 27, 1932, in the small town of
Cleveland, Texas, just north of Houston. Bill (as he was known to his friends and
family) passed away peacefully, with his daughters by his side, on July 24th,
2020 in Vacaville, CA.
Bill spent his childhood years living in the Texas countryside. The family then
relocated to Houston, where Bill studied for the ministry during his high school
years. When he graduated, he immediately enlisted in the United States Marine
Corps during the height of the Korean War in 1950. During his service in Korea,
Bill was severely wounded by shrapnel and earned a Purple Heart, along with
multiple other service awards. Despite the heartaches and the tragedy he
witnessed in his nearly 20 years in the Marine Corps, Bill was always incredibly
proud to have been of service to his country.
Bill was a lover of technology and writing, earning his electrical engineering
degree from Baylor University. He worked in many of the famous Silicon Valley
high tech companies from the early 70's through the millennium, such as
Fairchild, Hewlett Packard, Daisy, Valid Logic Systems, LSI Logic and many
more. Throughout his career, Bill was able to travel the world extensively,
including memorable visits to Moscow, Japan and throughout Europe and the
United Kingdom. He possessed the rare combination of a beautiful writing ability
along with technological skill, so he was a natural to step into and become
successful in the marketing and public relations field of newly formed high tech
start ups. His words helped to build and evolve many many companies and
businesses throughout Silicon Valley.
Bill was an avid sailor, and was happiest when he was out boating on the San
Francisco Bay. He never got a chance to sail around the world single-handedly,
a lifelong dream he had, but he made up for it by spending as much time on the
Bay as possible. He was a member of several Bay Area yachting clubs and
proudly served as the Commodore of Berkeley Yacht Club in the early 1980's. A
highly skilled captain, he loved to take family and friends out, and enjoyed
watching sailing novices become unnerved when his 29 foot sailboat Erik the
Red keeled over at a 45 degree angle in the Bay's famous Spring thru Summer
winds.
When not on the water or writing, Bill could often be found bowling on a league,
one of the other hobbies he excelled at. He was also a voracious reader, and
loved to constantly expand his mind with the writings of the great scholars and
philosophers. He was a true Renaissance man - Someone who appreciated life
and exemplified kindness.

He is survived by a loving family: his ex-wife Seyda and two daughters, Erin and
Melissa, his sister Virginia and husband Johnnie, his nephew David and family,
and his one and only granddaughter, 2 year old Alia. Official Military services for
Bill will be in Texas in March, 2022. The family will also be spreading some of
Bill's ashes on the San Francisco Bay.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honor of Bill to serve veterans in
need. Click here to make a donation to Bill's Memorial fundraiser:

https://everloved.com/life-of/william-harding-jr/