William James Barcus

William joined the Order of DeMolay in 1941. He remained very active with the group until he went off to college.

At an early age he got his love of baseball from his Father. He played many positions but the one he loved the most was pitcher. In High School he was the starting pitcher. He continued pitching through his time at the University of Miami in Ohio.

William proudly entered and served the United States Navy in 1952. After attending Annapolis he spent most of his time on the USS Revenge as an Electronic Technician. The USS Revenge was a Minesweeper located on the East Coast during his tour of duty. After a year of service he was called home after the death of his father in 1953.

After returning home from the US Navy, both William and his Mother moved from Steubenville, Ohio to Ontario, California in 1953. He bought a house in Ontario that he and his family lived in until 1982. This is the house where William and Ethel raised their daughter Nancy. In 1982 William and Ethel moved to Upland.

William joined Ontario Masonic Lodge on September 20, 1955. He became a Master Mason on October 29, 1955. He helped to build the Ontario Masonic Center located on Vine Avenue.

William and Ethel were married on July 12, 1956. He was a loving husband of 62 years. Always looking after her and making sure that she was taken care of. One of his last words to his daughter were, “ I Love You” and “make sure you take care of Mom for me.”

William loved to camp with his family. The family took many trips across the United States and Canada. Many memories of these trips with family and friends would always make him laugh and smile.

William and Ethel loved to go on cruises, go to Hawaii, and even Australia and New Zealand.

William worked for Kaiser Steel in Fontana for a year when first coming to California. After leaving Kaiser Steel he was employed with Southern California Edison. He started out as a meter reader and then moved on to the Controllers Department where he would spend his remaining years. He worked for Southern California Edison for over 30 years. He retired in 1990.

On December 1, 2017 William was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He spent all of the last year battling this illness.