FEARING, William E. Jr.
INDIO,
CA – William E. Fearing Jr., 77, formerly of Brisbane, CA, Oakland, CA, and
Clinton, MA, passed away peacefully on Feb 7, 2022 at the Emerald Rose Garden
Bed and Care Facility in Palm Desert, CA after a long battle with Idiopathic
Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Billy was
born on April 5, 1944 to William and Marion (Sheridan) Fearing.
He was predeceased by his parents, a sister who died in infancy, and his
partner of 37 years, Christopher W. Prentice. He leaves behind his siblings
Maureen E. (Fearing) Hardy of Lancaster, MA, Jack Fearing and his wife Nancy of
Flemington, NJ, and Tom Fearing and his wife Audrey of Marlborough, MA; nephews
and nieces Chuck Hardy, Jason Fearing and his wife Jessica, Alexa Fearing and
her fiancé Chris Alberto and their son Jackson, and Taylor Fearing; his loyal
and loving Rottweiler Zini, and a worldwide network of relatives and friends who
will all miss him dearly.
Billy
truly lived a life worth living, filled with adventures around the world that
left him with a vast group of friends everywhere he went.
As the son of an Army veteran, Billy traveled extensively even as a
youth, living in numerous places across the country as well as Germany and
Japan, where he proudly graduated from Yokohama High School (YoHi) in 1963.
He joined the Marines in 1964 and served in Vietnam onboard the USS
Hancock and at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. After
leaving the service, Billy continued to give back to his communities as a state
trooper in MA, a member of the highway patrol in CA, and an officer in the San
Francisco Police Department, eventually becoming a firefighter and paramedic in
Brisbane, CA, where he served for 22 years until his retirement in 2002.
Billy
moved to the Palm Springs area following his retirement and immediately became
involved as a first responder as well as training search and rescue dogs and
seeing eye dogs. Billy was
passionate about many things, particularly his Rottweilers, and for over 30
years he raised and doted on pairs of them, Zini being the last of a long line
of loving companions. He was a great
host and cook but was generally unable to make the same thing twice the same way
or to give anyone a coherent recipe. The
Thanksgiving turkey gravy recipe he concocted in Honolulu was particularly
memorable. He regaled us all with
stories of his adventures in Africa, Australia, and Asia, making us all want to
experience those things ourselves. He
treasured his “dog park friends” in Indio and cherished their weekly Sunday
coffee and pastry gatherings at his home and later at his care facility.
He was definitely one of a kind and will be missed by all who had the
pleasure of knowing him.