William Thomas Box ’40 passed away quietly on September 20, 2009. He was 91 years old. Bill was born July 18, 1918 in Los Angeles and attended Loyola High School and graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1940. He married Mary Josephine Becka in 1941 in Hollywood, Calif., and had six children (Tom, John, Margaret, Paul, Steve and Jean). Mary Jo died in 1956. Bill married a widow and friend, Patricia Ryan Baxter, in 1958 and raised her three children (Tony, Robin and Mike Baxter). His son John died in Vietnam in 1969 and is remembered through a University of Santa Clara scholarship fund. Bill served in the Marine Corps from 1940-46 and, after completing officer training at Quantico, fought in Guadalcanal, New Georgia and Okinawa. His units received five battle stars and two Presidential Citations. At the end of the war, he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. Like so many of his generation, he did not like to talk about his experiences in the war. Bill said that the most terrifying time of his life was the invasion of Okinawa. In a recent book by members of his unit detailing their exploits in the South Pacific, he was referred to by the other soldiers as "Sweet William or Wild Bill" depending on his demeanor at the time. Returning to civilian life he worked, as did his father and grandfather, in the oil business in Los Angeles. Bill participated with the DuPont Company in the innovative implementation of the bazooka in perforating oil wells; the basic process is still in use today. He told harrowing stories of testing these explosives in remote oil fields in the Rocky Mountains. Later through hard work, perseverance and intelligent decisions, he became operating manager of BJ Services, an oil service company, and finally the Chairman of the Board of Trico Industries. One of his proudest moments was when he took the company public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1978. He retired in 1984. Supporting and raising a family of nine kids was no easy job for Bill or Pat but somehow with the right amount of structure, discipline and love, they were successful in raising self-reliant children who have stayed close. One of Bill’s most important goals during the last 15 years of his life was to maintain family unity through biennial family reunions. While the reunions will continue, we will miss him greatly. He was always active in his church, St. John Fisher, in Rancho Palos Verdes. He became a Eucharistic Minister and always an active participant in the Seekers and other Catholic groups. Bill, before and after his wife Pat’s passing in 2003, traveled widely, seeing new places, old friends and his many children and grandchildren. He loved to attend his Marine Corps, Loyola High School and Santa Clara University annual reunions. Bill loved business. After retiring he took great pride in his business rentals and managing his stock portfolio. In 2006 he moved to Idaho to be near his daughter and son. Later he moved nearby to Washington where he lived in an independent retirement community and later to the Spokane Veterans Home ,where he passed away. He tirelessly professed the values of hard work and education. He demanded the best of those around him, had a heart of gold and was a true gentleman. He was loving, kind, generous, intelligent, and supportive of his grandchildren. He was a great husband, father, grandpa and friend to many, and we will miss him dearly. He is survived by his eight loving children, and his eleven grandchildren (Carolynn Box, Buck Palmer, Heather Box, Jess Box, Martin Box, John Box, Devin Baxter, Nikki Van Vlymen, Elly Berstein, Sam Box and David Berstein) and numerous nieces and nephews who all looked up to and loved grandpa.