William C. Bessey

Bill died peacefully on February 25 with family at his side. He was preceded in death by wife, Marsha; mother, Louise; father, Roy; step-mother, Glenna; and sisters Carolyn and Janet. He is survived by son, Sam; daughter-in-law, Meg; and grandchildren, Evelyn and Matthew of Nashville. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bill attended Grant High School in Portland, Oregon and Oregon State University before entering the Army in 1943. He served in K Company, 354th Inf. Regiment, 89th Division, of the Third Army. Bill carried a mortar across Europe, crossed the Rhine River, helped liberate Ohrdruf Concentration Camp, and received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal for heroism. Following the Second World War he attended University of Oregon where he was a loyal member of Chi Psi Fraternity. After earning a BA and MBA, he worked several years for Tektronix in Portland. In 1966, Bill received a Ph.D from U of O and began a career at Bank of America in San Francisco where he developed training programs for branch managers. He was once asked to turn down a funding request for Pumping Iron from Arnold Schwarzenegger, which he did – in person. Upon retirement, he served as development director at the Legion of Honor before beginning a second career as a professor of human resources management at Golden Gate University. He retired in 1996. Bill was a devoted parishioner of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and served several times on the Vestry. He enjoyed golf and was a good tennis player, spending countless Saturday mornings at the Golden Gateway Tennis Club. He was a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club of Portland, Oregon for over 60 years. As a member of the Family Club, Bill took great joy singing with his fellow Song Birds and wrote several plays. He served as president of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and dutifully participated in many civic endeavors in San Francisco. A memorial service will be held at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville, Tennessee at 11:00 AM on Friday 15 March 2013, and a reception will follow in the parish hall. The committal of Bill’s remains will take place at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco on Sunday 5 May 2013. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be sent to The Chi Psi Educational Trust, 45 Rutledge Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37210.