William Harris Widawsky

William (Bill) Harris Widawsky, beloved husband, father, and grandfather passed from this world on Jan. 12, 2016, at the age of 79 in Costa Mesa, California, in his own bed and surrounded by love. Born, raised, and educated in Brooklyn, NY, Bill graduated from the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1958 with a degree in chemical engineering and promptly drove across the country to his first job, in California's Mojave Desert, one of his many adventures in life. He lived the remainder of his life in Southern California, serving as an engineer and scientist in the aerospace industry for the majority of his career; his work on the Viking mission to Mars was one of his career highlights. In addition to his formal training as an engineer/scientist, he taught himself (and others) to do many other things, from installing sprinklers to computer programming. He had enormous affinity - in good times and bad - for the LA Lakers, from the artistry of Magic Johnson to the reign of Kobe Bryant. Bill was a devoted and loving husband to his wife of 30 years, Dianne, with whom he shared a love of music and theater and sports and travel, and the talent to simply relax and revel in each other's company. He was a role model and loving father to all his children: Lisa (and Shemer), David W. (and Shulamit), Daniel (and Rachel), Aaron, Rachel (and Yehuda), and David E. (and Lorelei); among many useful life lessons he imparted, Bill made sure all his children were regularly reminded of the formal chemistry definition of pH. Bill was proud of, and grateful for, his seven grandchildren: Joseph, Matan, Barak, Elias, Sophie, Rafael, and Shaul. His warmth, impish smile, and irrepressible humor will be a blessed memory to all who knew and loved him.