Our dear Dad, William “Bill” Francis Antes, passed away peacefully the morning of Friday, October 24, 2020 at age 86. He is survived by his beloved daughter, Denise Antes-Bennett and her husband, Chris Bennett; his beloved son, Scott Antes, his wife, Ann Marie and three beautiful granddaughters, Briana, Kayla and Nicole.
He was a loving Husband to Marjorie until her passing in July, 2000, and a loving Father to his daughter, Denise and son, Scott and was a loyal and dear friend to many people over the years. His gentlemanly character, grace and humor held him in high esteem with family, friends and new acquaintances. Although he faced some big challenges over the course of his life, his positive attitude never wavered. There was always a joke to be told and some funny antics to be done and everyone that knew him shared countless laughs over the years. He loved to share his memories of family and friends and always had a good story to tell. He will be forever missed.
Bill was born on December 5th, 1933 in San Jose, California to Edward and Adelaide Antes. He had an elder brother, Eddie, a sister Marlene and younger brother, Terry. Bill had a great upbringing in a big family and had close relationships with his Mom, siblings, his Grandma Smith and Aunt Sophie until their passing. He was affectionately known as Billie by his Aunt and Grandma.
Bill spent his entire life in San Jose. He attended Peter Burnett Middle School, Abraham Lincoln High School and San Jose Tech before entering the Plumbing trade as an apprentice plumber. Bill’s first job was at the Mission Bay Cannery cutting apricots. After completing his Plumbing apprenticeship in January, 1960, Bill joined the U.A. Local 393 and worked with various outfits in the Santa Clara Valley over the length of his career, retiring in February, 1994. He made a good living as a plumber, raising his family well and making countless lifelong friends during his time as a plumber.
On July 8, 1956, Bill married our Mother, Marjorie “Marge” Jensen, the absolute love of his life. He said that marrying Margie and into the Jensen family was one of the greatest things that ever happened to him in his life. Parents-in-law, Gladys and Einar, Brother-in-law, Jim and his wife Beverly were very special to Bill and he held them dear. Bill always said he couldn’t believe his luck in marrying Margie and into the Jensen family.
Jim’s wife Beverly, her parents, Jim and Christine Gill and Bev and Jim’s children, Brent, Christina and Michael were a big part of Bill’s life and our immediate family. We spent countless hours together as a family and every one of those hours was special. For years, weekly family dinners, holidays and birthdays were celebrated together and they have never been forgotten as the years have passed.
In 1958, they bought our family home at 1106 Huntingdon Drive in San Jose. In March 1959, Bill and Marge had their first child, a daughter they named Denise Marie. In December 1961, they had their son, Scott Alan. Our family home holds so many wonderful memories and my Dad lived there up until the end of February 2020 when he had a stroke.
Bill was an avid bowler and golfer all of his life. He and Marge had so much fun over the years playing both sports and he played golf with my brother often. Our parents made many lifelong friends with people they met bowling and golfing. They enjoyed many cruises together and formed the Big Val golf club.
He always enjoyed the annual Fourth of July BBQ put on by his beloved Uncle, Bob Holman and his Aunt Maude. Baseball games, excellent company, food and ice cold beer. What more could a man want!
He coached my brother and many of his friends who were on the Scottie’s Cleaners baseball team in the early 1970’s. He loved to watch our swim meets, but really enjoyed watching my brother play Lynbrook High School baseball and football. In later years, he attended many of his granddaughter’s basketball and field hockey games. He loved watching them play.
Bill loved his cats, and there were many over the years, and any animal that my Mom or us kids brought home as pets. He was a lifelong fan of the San Francisco Giants and the 49er’s.
He loved the music of Nat King Cole his entire life. He saw him live back in the 1950’s and never forgot a brief face to face encounter. Up until the last months of his life you would see Bill’s face light up when Nat began to sing. You’d look again and see the tears streaming down his face. He loved all kinds of music and any beautiful, meaningful song, including Jackson Browne, Celine Dion and Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings”, which reminded him of Marge every time he heard it.
Our Dad always enjoyed a good meal and could put away a couple of large plates of food in one sitting. He loved Scotty’s cooking and appreciated every meal that Karen and Trisha, his caregivers, cooked for him in his later years. He loved a good burger or pizza and a beer with Scott and he loved to go out eat with Denise and his longtime friends. He was always up for whatever you suggested. Family thanksgivings and Christmas celebrations were on the top of his list. He loved the company of his family, hearing what his granddaughters were doing in their lives and of course the delicious food Scott and Ann prepared.
In 2013, when he lost most of his sight to Macular Degeneration, he relied on the help of Denise and Scott and his caregivers to cook his meals and take care of his day to day business. The loyalty and care he gave to his family and friends, was returned by his son and daughter during these past years. He appreciated our help so much and he always thanked us for our love and care. How could we not love a Dad who was always happy to see us, share a meal, a few stories and several jokes! He was the best.
Bill treasured his family relationships above all and maintained many boyhood friendships up until the time of his stroke in February 2020. He was a loyal and loving son to his Mother, Adelaide and was always a loyal and loving husband to Marge and a fun-loving and supportive Dad to Scott and Denise. He could always be counted on to help, whether it was moving Denise from house to house for the twentieth time, helping Scott build his own family home in Campbell, or helping with the care of his Mother-in-Law, Gladys in her final years. He loved his children and really enjoyed the holidays to Disneyland with Scott’s family and the trip to Hawaii – especially the Luau - with Denise and Chris. He never let us forget how grateful he was for our help during the past decade. He loved his grandchildren and was so proud of their accomplishments.
Thanks to all of you who kept in touch and cared for our Dad over the years. Your constant kindness and compassion made his life so much richer. Your calls, visits and care made all the difference in his life and my brother and I will be forever grateful.
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