He attended Soda Canyon Elementary School in Napa when it was a one-room schoolhouse, and then Napa's Redwood Middle School, Napa Junior and Senior High Schools and Napa Valley Junior College. Bill went on to graduate from San Francisco State University and immediately began teaching auto shop at Napa High School.

Bill married Carol Freeman in 1968. Bill and Carol first met on the school bus when they were 11, and met again when they bumped into one another after college in Napa. Bill continued working in the industrial arts departments at Napa and Vintage high schools for 35 years.

Bill was a shining example of how and what a man should be. A loving and devoted husband, father and family  man, he was also a caring, sincere friend. A very generous and intelligent man, he had a big smile, big hands, a big heart, and, in many ways, was bigger-than-life.

He influenced and inspired generations of students with his enthusiasm. Bill was a lover of life and mastered many hobbies. He had insatiable passion for history, devouring books and documentaries about antique firearms, vintage cars and nautical and Napa history.

He took great pleasure throughout his life in building, restoring and driving vehicles. From several drag racing cars, beautiful street rods, classic boats and beyond, all were of an amazing quality and craftsmanship. His attention to detail was legendary. Bill also loved camping and the ocean, taking his family on RV vacations, and, most recently, driving his wife around in their diesel pusher. He will ever live in our hearts as a hero among men.

Bill, a fourth-generation Californian, is survived by his wife of nearly 44 years, Carol, and his three children, all of Napa. Robert; Anna Pope (Mark); and Leah Simons-White(Chris).

A celebration of Bill's life will be at Tulocay Chapel, 411 Coombsville Road, in Napa, on Saturday, June 23, 2012, at 11 a.m. Memories and words of sympathy may be made online at tulocaycemetery.org.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests your kind contribution be made to the Bill Simons Memorial Scholarship, c/o West America Bank, 1 Financial Plaza, Napa, CA. 94558.