William Patrick Bickler Jr.

William Bickler, known to many as Bill Bickler, passed away peacefully at the age of 69, on December 16, in Elk Grove, California. Born and raised in Wisconsin, he attended Pulaski High School and entered the trades as a pipefitter. He returned to college as an adult and graduated from Sacramento State with a Mechanical Engineering degree. He started his new career at Campbell’s Soup and utilized his mechanical engineering and project management expertise at Pepperidge Farm, Reynolds Metal, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo and General Mills.

He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Therese, his son Alex, his daughter Sarah (Adam) and two grandchildren Issac and Clara.

He fought a courageous battle against a rare form of cancer for more than ten years. He used this time to create wonderful memories with his family and friends with many trips to his home state of Wisconsin, traveled throughout California and abroad. He trained and competed in a variety of triathlons including the Escape from Alactraz, enjoyed the beauty of the outdoors and bike riding.

He devoted many years to the Knights of Columbus. He was honored to serve as Grand Knight and recognized as Knight of the Year for the Monsignor Raymond Renwald, Council 724 and a fourth-degree member of Council 2336.

He was an avid sports enthusiast and coached youth soccer, basketball and football teams. He understood how the children could contribute, placed them in a place to succeed, and most importantly ensured they enjoyed playing the game.

His family and friends will miss his sense of humor, colorful stories, and love of life.

A funeral mass will be held Thursday, January 5^th. at 10:30 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church 9961 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove CA 95624. A luncheon will immediately follow at the Msgr. O’ Connor Social Hall and all are welcome. A private committal service will follow.

The family would like to thank Stanford Medical Center for their compassionate care over the years and most recently Sutter Hospice Care. Donations may be made to Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (https://netrf.org/get-involved/give-now/).