William James "Willie" Solari

William "Willie" James Solari

Dec. 12, 1946 - Nov. 7, 2017

William "Willie" James Solari passed away Nov. 7, 2017 at Vibra Hospital in Folsom, CA at the age of 70. William was born on December 12, 1946 in Stockton. He attended Moore Elementary School and Linden High School alongside the same friends he would have for the rest of his life. After high school, he served in the United States Air Force Reserve, traveled the world with his good friend Leroy Dondero, and continued his life of farming with his family on the Solari Ranch.

Willie was the very epitome of a San Joaquin Valley fruit farmer and loved his work. He and his family grew a number of fruit crops, most notably peaches, nectarines, cherries, & apples. Later in his life he also worked at Chinchiolo Stemilt California in a variety of capacities.

Willie had a multitude of hobbies including a true love for aviation, a passion for exploring the night sky, sports, motorcycles, venturing out all over the state of Nevada, especially the Black Rock Desert. When he wasn't exploring the Silver State, he was taking drives to find new adventures, going out to nice dinners at places like the Waterloo Club or Giusti's, and entertaining friends and family with bonfire parties and barbeques in his backyard. He was also an active member of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Linden and served on the Parish Council in years past.

Willie was very passionate about the sport of baseball. He was a player for his entire childhood and teens, and eventually became Little League President of his local area for a number of years. A notable event that Willie organized was the Linden Oktoberfest, a Little League fundraiser, which occurred at Solari Ranch. He is survived by his treasured wife, Karen (aka Boo Boo II), daughter Jill Tiedeman (Robert) of Stockton, son Bryan Solari of Berkeley, from his first marriage to Joann Hall, stepson Greg Thomas of Lodi, stepdaughter Lori Risso (Kathy) of Stockton, granddaughters Madelyn Tiedeman, Sofia and Frankie Maffei, sister Shirley LaPierre of Rocklin, sister-in-law Gail Solari of Linden, cousin Julie Sarale (Bill) of Stockton, nephew Robert Solari (Shauna) of Linden, niece Luanne Miller (David) of Linden and nephew Michael LaPierre of Rocklin and many other loving family and numerous friends. Willie is preceded in death by his parents Stephen and Doris Solari, his brother Louis Solari and brother-in-law, George LaPierre.

Funeral Services will take place November 19th at 1pm at the Vineyard Chapel at Cherokee Memorial Park in Lodi, CA. Father Bill Kraft will be officiating the services. Proceeding the funeral, a private family prayer will be held at the tomb site. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Linden High School FFA 18527 Front St., Linden, CA 95236. Please make check payable to Linden High School & memo on check Linden FFA-William Solari.