William Means' Obituary
William Earl Means December 4, 1932 – April 9, 2020 William Earl Means was born and raised in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, the son of James and Edith Means. He had a very strong work ethic and learned the value of hard work at an early age. He had a paper route and used a second hand bicycle until he could save enough money to buy his own. The family did not have a car so he spent many winters trudging through the snow to get from one place to another. Later on in life he would tell his sons his “trudging through the snow” stories often embellished for dramatic effect when they complained about life’s challenges. He was known for his dry and corny sense of humor. The family joke about him was that his repertoire of jokes consisted of a one page joke book with a list of only ten jokes that he would often repeat time and time again. After graduating from Tarentum High School in 1951 he went to work for Pittsburg Plate Glass working in electronics. He then joined the navy from 1954 – 1958. One story that he would share from his time in the navy was when his crew’s aircraft carrier was sent out into the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Carol in 1954. The navy wanted to test how well their aircraft carriers would hold up during hurricane weather. There were no casualties and only one injury. After the navy he moved to Chicago to attend the DeVry Technical Institute. There he got his degree in electronics and then from there he moved to the Bay Area where the job opportunities were aplenty. He settled in Menlo Park and got a job at Ampex. After working for Ampex he went to work for Lockheed for a short period before working for BART from where he has since retired. He met his future wife, Geraldine, while on vacation, when she and her friends came to help them out during a boating accident. They married on June 18, 1960. From Menlo Park they moved to Fremont to live and raise their four sons. He was an active member of the Fremont Church of Christ from 1960 – 2006 where he has served as an elder for 20 years. He leaves behind his wife, Geraldine, of 59 years, his four sons Chris, Brent, Craig and Joel, his four grandchildren, Charlotte, Aidan, Olivia, and Easton, his sister, Rachel, of Ocala, Florida, and his brother, Sam, of Brakenridge, Pennsylvania. The greatest legacy that he leaves behind is that of a devoted, supportive and loving husband, father and grandfather.
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