William F Micka

Bill was the first born child of William F. Micka Jr. and Kathryn Kientz Micka on September 5, 1944 in Washington, D.C. where his father was serving in the Navy and his mother was a secretary for Nelson Rockefeller. Later siblings include Daniel, Thomas, Amy Jo, Paul, and John Micka.

The family eventually made its home in Rochester, Minnesota where Bill senior worked for IBM. Kathryn had been raised on a farm and the family settled on 120 acres in a 100 year old home that had been built as a stagecoach stop. At the farm, Bill built the foundation for his strong work ethic, plowing their own land as well as those of nearby neighbors to grow corn and other crops. There were horses to ride, dogs for hunting and tractors to fix.

After three years at the US Air Force Academy, Bill moved on to study electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota. He began his career as an engineer with IBM in Rochester in 1967. During his ten years in Rochester, Bill pioneered image processing, helping to develop the first optical character reader for a bank in Japan. It was in Rochester that Bill received his first patent for high speed real-time image transformation. Many inventions leading to 86 patents followed during his years (1978-2011) with IBM in Tucson, Arizona. Those he was most proud of involved protecting and recovering customer data in planned or unplanned outages.

Bill thoroughly enjoyed his property and home in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson Arizona, eventually adding horses, a machine shop, and dogs and cats to the throng of family and friends. Bill was active with the Tucson Racquet Club, where he met his wife Ann, an 8th generation Tucsonian, and her daughter Heather.

Bill and Ann were married in April,1996 and enjoyed many adventures together. They took up scuba diving, with Bill ultimately becoming Dive Master and encouraging the kids to join in the fun. They enjoyed camping/diving trips to the Sea of Cortez along with border collie Bonnie, and their diving group. Bill and Ann traveled to far-reaching locations to dive, and the love of the sea led them to embark on a new journey - sailing.

In San Diego, their starter sailboat, U Betcha, just 27 feet, did not satisfy their thirst for long. With a bigger and better vessel, the 36 foot Mardi Gras, they had great cruises up and down the Pacific coast. One of their favorite destinations was Two Harbors in Catalina Island, off the coast of San Diego. Later, when both Rachael and Charlie made their homes in San Diego and they, along with Heather in Tucson, started families, the Mardi Gras served as a home away from home and a base for the growing families to meet for brunch on Sundays and sails around the bay. Bill happily embraced his role as grandfather to five grandchildren, touching each of their lives in different and meaningful ways.

Bill was predeceased by his parents Kathryn Micka Strebbing and William Micka II, brother Daniel and sister Amy. He is survived by his wife Ann Urias Micka, daughter Rachael Micka Cardenas, her children, Emily and Andrew Cardenas, and son Charles Micka, his wife Tracy and their daughter Merrin. He is also survived by brothers Paul, Thomas, and John; and step daughter, Heather Gordon, her husband, Michael Gordon and their children, Zoe and Ethan. Fair winds and following seas, Bill!