William E. Weseloh
October 11, 1932 - May 1, 2017
Bill was born in Escondido, California to Joseph and Dorothy Weseloh. He was the second of four boys. His brothers, Joe, Dick and Dave have all preceded him in death. Blessed with a large extended family in southern California, Bill spent much of his childhood visiting relatives. He had particularly fond memories of the family ranch in Ramona, California.
Most people that knew Bill are aware of his enthusiasm for dixieland music, especially a good trombone solo. He was a trombone player since the 4th grade and attributed his lifelong love of dixieland jazz to his first bandleader (director) Evan N. Williams. Just before he left home to attend Santa Clara University, his parents were leaving town for the weekend. They told Bill that whatever he did while they were gone, he was NOT to buy a new trombone. No sooner had they left and turned the corner, when HE left for San Diego to buy a new trombone to play in the Santa Clara Band.
A Class of ‘54 Santa Clara graduate, it was there that he met a group of special friends that he remained close to for the rest of their lives. It was at a Santa Clara/Notre Dame dance that he also met his future wife, Jeanne Kernan. Bill was playing in the band that evening, Jeanne was attending the dance. They married at Nativity Church in 1955 and enjoyed almost 62 years of marriage. Bill loved to brag about Jeanne’s floral, gardening and decorating talents.
Bill was in the Army for two years (179th Army Band), then worked for A.C. Nielsen Company (TV ratings) before starting a 52year career in Real Estate. Working first for Joe Beh, then for Spinelli and Company, he started Weseloh & Young Real Estate 40 years ago and never closed those doors. W&Y doubled as his downtown social life. He was so happy to have co-workers, friends and family stop by for visits and to get lunch at his regular local spots. You could often find him at the office perusing The Classifieds, searching for cars. When he found a good deal, he’d ask around to see if he could find any takers. He had a weakness for classic cars, and early in his life owned 19 Chevy’s in a row!
Bill and Jeanne have deep connections to Menlo Park. They lived on Marmona Drive when their first three children were born. Their Poppy Avenue house has been their home since 1964. They are also 50+ year members of St. Raymond Church. In addition, Bill spent years on the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce and the Menlo Park Historical Society. The most recent project that he worked on is the plan to rebuild the original “Menlo Gate”.
The Weseloh home-awayfrom-home is “the beach house” in Aptos. Bill loved spending time there with his family and friends and delighted in having many gatherings and celebrations there. He also enjoyed his annual summer trips to Tahoe. A native Californian, he had never been to Tahoe until 1980. After that visit, he and Jeanne never missed a year, and always looked forward to spending weeks with the groups at Tahoe Cedars and in the Kings Beach area.
You were lucky if you got to be Bill’s domino partner, and he was always up for a game. You were even luckier if you were served one of his famous mai tai’s. We gathered around Bill on his final evening and toasted him with a mighty fine batch of mai tais…just the way he would make them. The mai tai tradition is sure to continue at future family gatherings.
Bill was so proud of his family and took every opportunity to enthusiastically tell of their most recent exploits or events in their lives. He lives on in his five children, their spouses, and his twelve grandchildren: Chris (& Joni), their sons Zach, Sam, and CJ; Patty (& Steve) Mayer, their children Dylan, Kenzie and Nicola; Tom (& Jamye), their daughters Rachael and Rebecca; Mary (& Steve) Whitfield, their children Molly and Luke; and Michael (& Jayme), and their sons Alex and Drew.
Deeply religious, ever so ethical and extremely generous, Bill, “the man, the myth and the legend”, will always be cherished, loved and greatly missed.
Here’s to you, Bill, good people are scarce!
Friends are invited to services which will be held on Monday, May 8, 10:30am at St Raymond Church, 1100 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The St. Francis Center, 151 Buckingham Ave., Redwood City, CA 94063 or to a cancer organization of your choice.