Bill Chilton

Bill Chilton William "Bill" Chilton of Grover Beach, California, passed away December 5, 2015, at the age of 79. Born in Altadena, California, in December 1935 Bill was the second of four children of Helen Isobel Chilton and William Henry Chilton. He grew up in Southern California and attended Arcadia High School. He married Marjorie "Anne" Wright in 1955. Bill served in the Navy after graduation and, upon discharge, attended Pasadena Community College and later Loyola University, where he earned a BS in Engineering. Bill and Anne lived in Pasadena and had three children. In 1964 they moved to Manhattan Beach, where they raised their family. Bill worked in the local aerospace industry and was active at King Harbor Yacht Club, where his young family learned to sail and where he raced his Cal 20 sailboat, "Hei Fei." The family enjoyed many trips aboard the sailboat to Catalina during the summers. Bill divorced in the early 1980s and moved back to the Arcadia area, settling in Sierra Madre. He married Verna Lee Chilton, and became involved in the local community, working on the operations part of the Sierra Madre Rose Parade float each year and supporting Verna in the community theater. During this time his engineering career shifted from aerospace to entertainment when he became an "imagineer" for Disney and later worked at Universal Studios in ride development. After retirement Bill went back to school to study horticulture and, after moving to the Central Coast in early 2004, launched a landscaping/gardening business. He settled in Grover Beach and once again became active in the local community. Bill enjoyed his family, good friends, gardening, photography and walks on the beach. He spent much of his spare time working on his Model A Ford and doting on his African Grey parrot Aeowin. He will be remembered as the first in line to lend a helping hand and as a loving father and grandfather. He will be sorely missed by the many who knew him. Bill is survived by his children, Gini, Linda and Bill Chilton; grandchildren, Seija and Aria Maniskas and William and Shyanne Chilton, and siblings Robert Chilton and Margaret Chilton. He was predeceased by his brother James Chilton in 2014. Services will be held at 1:30pm on Saturday, December 19 at the Marshall-Spoo Sunset Funeral Chapel in Grover Beach. Sign his guestbook at sanluisobispo.com/obituaries