Obituary
William "Bill" Wilson of Grass Valley died Monday, July 30, in a plane crash outside Park City, Utah. An avid pilot, he was returning from the AirVenture Fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at the time of the crash. He was 68.
Born May 3, 1933, in Alton, Illinois, he graduated from Alton High School and earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He worked for General Electric and Shell Chemical before founding Taurus Plastics, a manufacturing firm in San Leandro, CA. After a long residence in Walnut Creek, he retired to Grass Valley 4 years ago.
Bill’s interests included jazz music, Giants baseball, and 49ers football. He was an active member of the Golden Empire Flying Association and enjoyed building his own aircraft.
Bill is survived by Marilyn, his wife of 46 years; Nancy Stone of Pecos, NM; Karen Simpson of Danville, CA; Scott Wilson of Tucson, AZ; and 7 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 4th, at 2:00 at United Methodist Church of Grass Valley, with reception to follow.
Contributions in Bill’s memory can be sent to the Golden
Empire Flying Association, PO Box 375, Grass Valley, CA 95945.