William Monroe Clow

Bill was one who was born in 1924 into the greatest generation the United States has ever produced. His mother, Nell was 20 when he was born. They had very little possessions and money and then the Great Depression hit in 1929-1939. He was 5 years old. Bill remembered living in a four wheel box house trailer that consisted of 4 walls like a big wagon. They didn’t have toilets or running water. He never had a home town because his parents were always moving to try to make a living. They picked fruit, pruned trees, his Dad made novelties that his Mom would paint to sell. Bill's Dad dug up cement piers so he could sell them for lumber to build a house. He said it was more like a garage but was heaven to them.

He also remembered living in a tent. When it rained they had to sweep the top of the tent to keep it from leaking. It was difficult to stand in front of the tent and wait for the school bus. He remembered being embarrassed when the school bus came and picked him up. He didn’t have many friends because he was always moving and going to different schools.

It was so important for Bill that his kids never experience the disruption of moving all their lives, so he built their home in Anaheim 1951 on 2 acres. This where the family lived the majority of their lives. He wanted them to have the stability he never had growing up.

Bill had two brothers but he didn’t remember much about them growing up because he was 18 years old when Richard, his youngest brother was born and Lee Roy was 10. Bill joined the Army Air Corps at 18 years old. He did his basic training at Luke Field in Phoenix, Arizona. In the Air Corps he was the crew chief on a P-40 Flying Tiger. He was put on a ship to go overseas. It took 12-16 days to get to Liverpool, England. They got off the ship and went to a base that was not completely finished. It was cold, muddy and had no warm running water. He was next shipped to a place outside Belfast called Langford Lodge (Base Air Depot 1942-1945). Bill worked in the control tower directing traffic. He remembers a lot of plane wrecks. He worked there until Germany surrendered. Bill was in the military for 3 years, 3 months and 3 days. He was released and made his way home to Long Beach.

When Bill's parents visited Missouri, they became acquainted with the Picketts, Betty’s parents. One night, Betty’s parents came to Dad’s home for dinner. Bill’s father, Bert told him about the Pickett’s daughters and gave Bill their phone number. So one night Bill called their number and Betty answered the phone. He stated he was going to ask whichever daughter answered the phone out on a date. It was Betty that answered. Bill and Betty were together for about 8 months before he proposed and she accepted. They were married on July 17, 1948. Bill said this was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Bill and Betty rented a little apartment in Los Angeles. Betty was a teacher in Pasadena and Bill worked for a bedspring factory. They brought a piece of property that was 40 feet wide in Los Angeles and build a small house. It was a one bedroom with a one car garage. This is where they had their first son, Randy.

Betty’s parents were raising chickens to make money. Bill went into the chicken business too . He saved enough money to purchase 2 acres of land near Disneyland. He built a 2 bedroom house himself. He dug the foundation by hand, set the forms, laid the floor, plumbing and everything else. When their second child Cindy was born, they were living in the garage. Bill and Betty had 2 more children, Gail and John.

Bill got into carpentry because a friend asked him to join him. Bob Wilson taught him how to frame walls. He worked with him for about a year. Then he met a person who taught him how to do rafters. Bill would race to see who could get the most rafters up first. He did this work for a number of years until he met Paul Tucker.

Bill and Paul Tucker went into business together framing houses. They worked hard and long hours. Their company developed a good reputation in the framing business. They build thousands of houses. They would frame 10 houses a day. They made money on some and lost money on other.

In 1968 Paul Tucker and Bill bought a plane. Their first plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza, single engine. This was the beginning of Bill's love of flying. He would fly everywhere, flying to Mexico for fishing, Idaho to visit his parents or Catalina Island for lunch.

He framed homes in Big Canyon for Dean Homes. The houses were being sold faster than they could built them. He wanted to move to Newport Beach but it was expensive. He found out one of the houses partly built was up for re-sale. He was able to purchased the house and moved to Newport Beach in 1977.

Bill's friend, Fritz Krauth who was a tax attorney told him about owning property in St. Croix. It was a tax advantage to own property there. He purchased a condo in St. Croix overlooking the beach. Bill and Betty would spend 6 months a year there. After a while they got tired of living in St. Croix and sold the property.

He developed a special way of looking at life from his lifetime experiences. He said he didn’t worry to much, he laughed a lot and didn’t fight with his wife. He figured if you want to fight with someone, go find a stranger. It is real easy to get into a battle, but if you love someone there is no reason to get into a fight.

A funeral service followed by graveside service for William will be held Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Pacific View Mortuary & Memorial Park, 3500 Pacific View Drive, Corona Del Mar, California 92625.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pacificviewcalifornia.com for the Clow family.