William W. Eldridge III

Bill was born on January 19, 1945 to Colonel William Eldridge, Jr. USMC and Beverly Eldridge in Chattanooga, TN. Bill’s childhood was spent traveling all over the globe as the son of a Marine officer including stops in Hixon, TN; Tsingtao, China; The Territory of Hawaii; Woodbridge, VA; and settling in Santa Ana, CA.

After Bill graduated from Santa Ana High School in 1963, he went on to become a police offer with Santa Ana PD. He was medically retired at age 22 after a traumatic on-the-job accident from which doctors told him he would never be able to recover enough to work in law enforcement again.

With a strong faith in the Lord and in himself, he went back to school at Cal State LA and earned a degree in Criminal Justice. Against all odds, he overcame his injuries and got back into law enforcement. He became a District Attorney Investigator for Los Angeles County for 27 years.

In 1977, Bill met his wife, Janet. They married on April 15, 1978 and went on to have two children, William and Charles.

In retirement, Bill spent his time enjoying life with his family and found great joy in his role as a grandfather to Charlotte (age 12) and Lincoln (age 8). He also enjoyed going for drives with his bride, being at the beach, trying new restaurants, and hanging out with his son’s pugs. Bill was a man of faith and believed every day was a gift from God.

Bill was predeceased by his brother Robert (“Bob”) Eldridge. He is survived by his wife, his two children, his two grandchildren, his daughters-in-law Alycia Eldridge and Jeanette Eldridge, his brothers Thomas (“Tom”) Eldridge and Randall (“Randy”) Eldridge, and his multiple nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at Waverly Chapel in Fairhaven Memorial Park on July 3rd at 11:30 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the ministry of Joel Brown of Living Water Ukraine. The family has supported Pastor Joel’s work in Refugee Care, Aid, and Trauma Care in Mukachevo, Ukraine, for years.