William Joseph Paker

Bill passed away November 17, 2022 surrounded by his family and loved ones. He was born in Evansville, Indiana to Albert and Elvira Paker. Laurel Paker, his wife of 32 years, preceded him in death, as well as his eldest daughter, Mary Ellen Cosner.

He is survived by his children Thomas (Marilyn) Paker, IL, Michaela (Jeff) Withrow, TX, Cheryl (Robert) Wood, WA, Laurie (Ramon) Barrios, CA, Kelley (Asghar) Nowrouz, CA, JennieRae Paker, CA, and Allison Paker, CA, his grandchildren Kaitlin and Eryn Paker, Lance (Jamie) Gomez, CA, Derek (Shavonne), Christopher, Devon, and Nathan Wood, Yama Andrew and Amir Nowrouz, Brandon and Brandie Barrios, and great-grandchildren Noah Gomez, Samuel, Clair, and Matthew Wood. He is also survived by his only sibling Harold (Frances) Paker, MO, and their children Linda (Dwight) Roberts, MO, and Ken (Marianne) Paker, WI. Bill’s mother, Elvira, died the day after Bill was born. Elenora Petitjean, a cousin once removed, stepped in and raised both boys. Bill regarded Nora as his mom and was heartbroken when she passed away in 1979.

Bill graduated from Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville, IN in 1953. He served in the United States Air Force from 1955-1960, most of that time in Japan. He was transferred from Japan to Tucson, AZ where he lived until his discharge in January, 1960. He then moved to Santa Clara County and began his higher education at Santa Clara University where he graduated with a BS in Accounting in 1968, and later an MBA in 1975. His favorite two long-term career jobs were at Atari Electronics and Sun Microsystems. At both places Bill was admired by his coworkers and led teams on groundbreaking systems.

After retirement, Bill volunteered at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley for 16 years. There he built many enclosures for the rescued animals, served as President of the Board of Directors, and volunteered many additional hours doing various tasks. Due to his volunteer work at the WCSV, Bill was honored by the Junior League of San Jose in 2006 as Volunteer of the Year.

Bill enjoyed cooking – especially for his family. He loved wine, wine tasting and appreciated his wine collection. He especially enjoyed picking up his subscriptions directly from the winery where he would visit and developed personal relationships with the wine makers and tasting room staff. He kept fit and active until his last days by working out with his morning exercise group. Bill was an avid San Francisco Giants fan; 2010, 2012 and 2014 were especially fun years for him as they won the World Series those three years. Bill also liked the San Francisco 49ers but he really cheered on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. When not watching baseball or football, Bill could be found watching Jeopardy every night at 7 pm and then Hallmark movies. Reading was Bill’s passion; he was always reading multiple books at the same time.

Bill will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. He looked forward with great anticipation to family gatherings and loved it when his family was all together. Bill was especially proud of his recent accomplishment of establishing a living endowment at Santa Clara University named after his mother: The Paker Family Endowed Scholarship in memory of Elvira Paker. He was deeply honored to create this legacy in her memory. He was sobered by the fact that it will live in perpetuity giving annual scholarships.

There will be a viewing beginning 3 p.m. with funeral to follow at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 2, 2022 at Lima Family Erickson Memorial Chapel, 710 Willow Street, San Jose. Burial at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at Oakmont Memorial Park, 2099 Reliez Valley Road, Lafayette with a reception to follow at Kelley’s home, 3127 Stanley Blvd., Lafayette, CA.