William Wilson
simiguys@sbcglobal.net

William Wilson

Mailing Address:

3447 Circle View Dr
Simi Valley, CA 93063-2123

Phone: 805-559-4732

Spouse: Cyd

Kids:

Arik (1979) married Motoko in 2007 to whom a daughter Mila was born in 2011
Goeff (1981)
Kyle (1984)

Gradkids: Mila (2011)

Bill and Cyd in Jerusaleam 2014 2014 Reunion News: During the course of my career with the Loker Research Institute in the Chemistry Department at the University of Southern California, and before that with the Air Force Research Laboratory and at Rocketdyne, including some outside consulting on chemical systems, I have been fortunate to study, synthesize and characterize compounds of fluorine and other main group elements as High Energy Density Materials for use as a rocket propellant or in a chemical laser system. Doing research has been a highly rewarding career for me with numerous publications, patents and presentations at symposia and conferences in many parts of the world. Plus, there is the constant stimulus from mentoring undergrads, grad students and young post-docs as they prepare for their futures. As may be easily deduced, I am not yet ready to give up what I enjoy doing at the moment in order to embark upon retirement with an uncertain higher degree of satisfaction. In order to balance this out, I also volunteer for a not-for-profit organization in my local community which focuses on fund-raising, investment and distribution of grants for certain philanthropic causes and scholarships for university students, which brings a lot of joy.

Following the death of my wife Denise in 2009 after 37 wonderful years, three great children and one spectacular grand-daughter, I married Cyd whose family had known our family for over 30 years. For practically 20 of those years Cyd had raised her three sons as a single mother, and her sons have been friends with my three sons practically from birth. Later on, once we began to see each other in a different light, we discovered that even though sometimes life can be filled with sadness and unpredictability, life can also be filled with hope and unexpected opportunities. Now, with all six of our sons out on their own and leading productive lives, we have found that there is more to life than having kids under foot at all times, especially since we both love to travel, as we have done to the Caribbean Islands, Quebec, British Columbia and Israel.

Cyd's position as a Teacher and Chair of the Social Sciences Department at Simi Valley High School has given her the opportunity to take High School Graduates on tours across the Atlantic to visit different European countries in order to experience their cultures, which I have happily joined her in doing lately. Although I have been fortunate enough to have traveled widely across the US and Canada as well as Asia and Europe presenting my research results as well as simply going on vacations, nothing comes close to showing young people for the first time a completely different perspective of the world that they live in as compared to Southern California.

There are still places that Cyd and I would like to go (like visiting Iceland which is from where her ancestors hail), and things that we want to do (like climb Machu Picchu in Peru). Fortunately, since we are both in reasonably good health, we think that we have a good 25-30 years in which to accomplish such goals as this and maybe others that have not occurred to us yet.

2004 Reunion News: No input

30 Year Reunion 1994

Spouse's Name: Denise
Current residence: Simi Valley CA
Occupation: Research Chemist
Spouse's Occupation: Physical Therapist
Family: Arik 15; Goeff 13; Kyle 10.
Number of grandchildren: 0
Places lived in the last 10 years: Simi Valley
Hobbies and other interests: Soccer, referee of soccer games, cub scouts, boy scouts.
Plans or goals for the next 10 years: Short term repair to our home and some earthquake damage and for the long term to see our children through high school and university and then see if we can afford to travel to some distant places we have not yet been.

20 Year Reunion 1984

Spouse's Name: Denise
Current residence: Simi Valley CA
Occupation: Inorganic Fluorine Research Chemist
Spouse's Occupation: Physiotherapist
Family: Arik 5; Goeffrey 3.
After graduating from LHS, I attended the UofI and after following the inspiration of Frank Pentzer, graduated with a BS Chem degree. During the summers between school years in Moscow, I was fortunate enough to spend one in the Nez Perce Nat'l forest and others in Lancaster Co PA and Los Angeles CA working with some masons and with an analytical chemistry group. Finally, I decided to go to the U of BB in Vancouver BC where I ultimately graduated with a PhD in Chemistry in '75. While there I met Denise who was from Quebec City working as a physiotherapist and we were married in '72. We spent '76 in Paris France while I spent a year with the Centre d' Etudes Nuclearies de Saclay doing research. After touring Europe, we returned to the US and I was employed for a while with Argonne National Lab near Chicago IL. Now I am in southern CA and working as a fluorine chemist on high-energy oxidizers at Rocketdyne (which makes the Space Shuttle's main engines). Denise and I have 2 boys, who were born here in LA and a third child is due to arrive the end of May 84. Besides coin collecting (a hobby started while working with the old Lewiston Broncs baseball team), I actively enjoy tennis (yea Bob Yeoman), and this summer will be working with the LAOC as a French-English translator for Fencing Bout Committee for the '84 Olympic Games. (Mr. Robert Fahringer, Mme Grace Tapp and Mlle Hugette Guerry at this time may all give a sigh of relief-or apprehension). Although I will not be able to come to the reunion, I will have planned to be in Lewiston in June staying with my mother while attending the American Chemical Society NW Regional Meeting in Moscow and giving a paper on NF4CrF6. I regret not being able to attend the reunion, but send my best to all those who do and hope they will have a good time reminiscing about the good old days.

10 Year Reunion 1974

Spouse's Name: Denise
Current residence: Vancouver BC
Occupation: Teaching/research assistant
Spouse's Occupation: Physiotherapist
Family:
1964-69 attended UofI, obtained a BS (Chem), summer of 1966 was in Ironville PA with a construction company, summer of 67-68 in Los Angeles with Southern CA Edison Elec Co Chem Division, 1969-72 attended U of BC, obtained MS (Chem), Aug of 1972 married Denise of Canada. 1972-present studying for PhD with research interest in inorganic chem.