William Bruce Hilton
November 27, 1958 - May 6, 2018 Resident of Saratoga
William Bruce Hilton, age 59 1/2, passed away peacefully Sunday evening, May 6, 2018 in San Leandro. He was recuperating from burn wounds from a house fire about eighteen months ago.
William was born on Thanksgiving day, November 27, 1958, in Provo, Utah of Shirley Bowman Hilton and W. Bruce Hilton. He was the oldest of eight boys. He started his schooling in Sunnyvale and continued it in Saratoga when the family moved there in 1965. He raised rabbits as a teenager. He was active in the school marching and symphonic bands, playing the clarinet. He was a member of the Saratoga High School band that competed in the International Festival of Bands in Vienna, Austria in 1974. He also was an active softball player. One season he was the main pitcher for the team.
As a high school student he participated in the FFA program at Los Gatos High. He raised chickens and steers and exhibited the steers at the Santa Clara County summer fair. He took one steer walking through the Main Street of Los Gatos. He graduated from Saratoga High in 1976.
He also dismantled old wood pallets. After planing and sanding the pieces he used them to construct several items of beautiful wood furniture. These included an armoire, a couple of butcher blocks, and a book shelf.
He loved to laugh and play practical jokes. He celebrated all of the holidays and decorated his apartments accordingly. On Halloween he celebrated by wearing various costumes.
William was the owner and operator of a Medical Transport Service for several years, while he was only in his twenties. He later moved from Saratoga to Berkeley and worked in San Francisco as a financial analyst. He initially worked for SuperCuts in their finance section. During that time he was a part-time student at University of San Francisco and San Francisco State. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Computer Information Systems in 1986-1990 from San Francisco State University. He later earned a Master of Accountancy degree from Golden Gate University on August 21, 2010. He made several trips to Australia as a consultant for SPL.
William’s family expresses their heartfelt gratitude to the staff of the All Saints Subacute Facility in San Leandro. Their care of William during the last year has been outstanding and is very much appreciated.
William was pre-deceased by his brother, Richard (2014), his nephew Dallin (2016) and his mother, Shirley (2017). He is survived by his father, W. Bruce, and six brothers and their wives: Brent (Jo), Gary (Nancy), Bruce A. (Mariann), Brian, M. Shaun (Juli) and Russell (MaryAnn). Fourteen nephews and eight nieces also survive him.
A viewing will be held on Friday, May 11, 2018 from 1:00 to 2:00 at the Darling and Fischer Morturary in Los Gatos. The burial in the family plot at Madronia Cemetery, Saratoga is scheduled for 2:30 following the viewing.