William Tedford Rianda

William T. Rianda, also known as “Billy”, “Willy”, “Wreck It Ralph”, “Slasher”, “Wild Bill”, sometimes “Mr. Rianda”, “Pops”, “Grandpa” and often just simply “Bill” departed this world on June 1st, 2022. After a long battle with Cancer, he passed peacefully in his sleep. Bill was born on July 26th, 1946, proudly on the forefront of what was to become the Baby Boomer generation. He grew up in a time of plenty. Plenty of work, plenty of family, and plenty of stories that he later shared to an ever-expanding family. With tales of picking Prunes down the street from the family house under the ever-watchful eye of his task minded older sister Carlene, to working at R&T painting where he envisioned what his future could be as a contractor. Being a teenager in the 50’s Bill became enamored by fast cars and much of his early history is tales of buying, driving, and occasionally wrecking those very fast cars (RIP ’65 GTO). In the 60’s times being what they were Bill began his path towards being a contractor by graduating from Willow Glen High School and immediately enrolling in junior college to get his 12 credits of Painting and Estimating that were needed to obtain his eventual contractor license. With the Vietnam war raging Bill signed up for the National Guard and would have been indoctrinated had not been for the unexpected birth of his first son James. He quickly married his first wife Mary Hopkins and welcomed his second son Justin 3 years later. Being industrious and hardworking Bill started Rianda Painting in 1972 with his Father William “C” Rianda. It was around that time that Bill found motorcycles and the trajectory of his pastimes forever more changed. Through his longtime friend Gary Curtner, he became acquainted with the motorcycle club Santa Clara Riders Unlimited (later known simply as SCRU). At that point history was sealed. He joined the club and over the next 50 years served as virtually every officer within the org, with a club that was active in promoting the sport of offroad riding and racing. The stories of those first 20 years are full of tales of Wild Bill overshooting jumps, running over fellow club members (accidently), racing RVs, and occasionally losing a child in the desert. In the 80’s Bill continued to grow his expanding contracting business, employing virtually every family member and friend of employable age at one time or another. He also felt hard work built character and would often drag his pre-teen sons to the jobs, having them learn the merits of hard work through the removal and installation of switch plate covers, laying drop clothes, and painting roof jacks. The 80’s were also when Bill would partner with long time best Friend Ron Piazza and build a commercial building on the outskirts of Willow Glen, an ambitious endeavor that the two struggled to complete. When done the building was still in its first decade when Rianda Painting almost burned it to the ground. Amazingly the friendship withstood the trial of fire and Ron has been one of Bills closest and dearest friends through his life. It was also the time that another fork in history would occur as Bill become a member of what would eventually become known as AHRMA (American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association), getting assigned the now infamous National number “72”. No one is sure why, but after dabbling in racing poorly prepped CZs Bill set his eye on being a pre-eminent Big Twin competitor. His friend Butch Cochrane, always up for a good project helped him source and build a race bike that he would then race over the next 30 years. A beast of a bike, a twin 750 Triumph, it led him to numerous national championships as he and his second wife Toma Schaeffer would crisscross the country in their little Chevy Astro van competing in races up until he was 72. Bill loved his business and his motorcycles, but his family always came first. He remarried in 1998 to Toma Schaeffer and with a simple act doubled his extended family. He was a loving grandfather to the ever-expanding brood and there was never a family event that Bill and Toma wouldn’t travel to. If you were in need Bill was there. He cherished his time with friends and family. If you knew Bill, you knew he had a wicked sense of humor and that never left him. He was a genius in finding the humor in any situation, often at your expense. Sometimes the clown, sometimes the humorous narrator, sometimes the straight guy, Bill was always making you laugh in one way or another. Bill was a very special person, loved and respected by many. He will be greatly missed. A special thanks from the family to Joe Carrera whose generosity in providing a campsite to host last Thanksgiving provided the family with fresh memories of Bill cruising the trails of Clear Creek doing what he loved most, motorsports & family.

Bill is survived by his Wife Toma Schaeffer, Sons James Rianda and Justin Rianda, Stepson Tom Kaeding, Stepdaughter Tuesday Airola, Sister Carlene Garner, Brother Jeff Rianda, and 15 grandchildren.