William "Bill" Armbruster

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Bill Armbruster of Clovis was born on July 17, 1950, in Jacksonville, Florida, to parents Charles and Liz. He and his older siblings, Joe and Barbara, enjoyed their childhood in Florida. The family moved to Lemoore, CA, in 1961, when Charles, a Master Chief in the Navy, was transferred to the brand-new naval air station.

At Lemoore High School, Bill was on the football and track teams … and occasionally studied. He graduated in 1968 and moved to Fresno, working during the day and attending Fresno City College at night. At Fresno State he majored in Criminology and set his sights on going to law school.

Bill met Shirley Melikian at Fresno State in 1969, graduating with her in 1973. He worked and attended San Joaquin College of Law at night, graduating in 1977.

He had a long and varied legal career, working in private practice; as a Fresno County Deputy Public Defender; an attorney with the City of Fresno; and for the State Compensation Insurance Fund. He worked for Kings County as a Deputy District Attorney in the DA’s office and ended his career as the Head Attorney in the Kings County Minor’s Advocate Office, where he represented minors and advanced their interests with the courts and various agencies. Bill said this was his most satisfying work.

Bill and Shirley were married in August 1975 and lived over the years in Visalia, Fresno, and Clovis. They celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. They were blessed with two children, Mitch and Kira. Bill was so proud, bragging about their accomplishments and world travels.

Bill was devoted to his family and was a frequent volunteer at church and the children’s schools. At First Armenian Presbyterian Church in Fresno, he was an elder, served on the cooking committee, led the Singles group, and helped at Vacation Bible School. He was the church’s Father of the Year in 1993. He mentored individuals in Operation Timothy, a Christian outreach for spiritual growth.

He was president of the Parent Teacher Fellowship at Fresno Christian Elementary School, coached soccer, and founded the Christian Baseball League for children.

Bill was an avid fisherman and especially enjoyed deep-sea fishing trips. The family enjoyed his catches of tuna, salmon, halibut, and lingcod.

After retiring in 2017, Bill turned his attention to his golf game. As their retirement gift to themselves, he and Shirley rented a house in Shell Beach and played a variety of golf courses in the Pismo/Morro Bay/Nipomo area. They returned for a summer golf vacation every year after that.

Bill was a true “people person” who was generous with his time and resources. He truly cared for everyone. He always had a joke ready and his goal was to bring a smile to people’s faces and make them laugh.

Bill is survived by Shirley of Clovis, Mitch of Washington, D.C., and Kira of Clovis; his mother Liz Johnston; brother Joe Armbruster; step-siblings Bruce and Leslie Johnston, and Chris, Pat and Phil Hickey; brother-in-law Dan Cline; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Marlene and Art Dhallin; nephew Art Dhallin Jr. (Giselle); niece Michelle Buschmann (Darin); nephew Jason Cline; great-nephews and nieces Erik and Ava Buschmann and Alessandra and Christian Dhallin. His father, Charles, and sister, Barbara Cline, predeceased him.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Cancer Society (donate.cancer.org) or Evangel Home Shelter for Women and Children (evangelhome.org), 137 N. Yosemite Ave., Fresno 93701.