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William B. 'Bill' Hirst San Diego, CA QCWA # 3208 Chapter 7 |
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HIRST, WILLIAM BASIL CAPTAIN, USN (RET) William B. "Bill" Hirst,Jr. 94, passed away peacefully at home October 2, 2012. Born in Santa Barbara to William and Harriet Hirst July 8, 1918, Bill graduated from Berkeley High School in 1936 and Stanford University in 1940 where he joined Delta Upsilon fraternity and played rugby.
As a communications officer in World War II, after surviving the bombings of Cavite and Darwin, he helped create a radio school near Canberra; hundreds of servicemen were trained there in radio surveillance of the Japanese fleet. For fun, Bill started US Navy rugby teams with weekly matches against Australian teams.
In Australia, he fell in love with Joan Christina Tonkin. They were married for 66 years and had nine children. Bill's post war career was devoted to modernizing the Navy with new electronic technology. An assignment as executive officer of the Naval Electronics Laboratory brought Bill and family to Point Loma in 1960.
After retirement from the Navy, Bill taught physics and astronomy at California Western University from 1965-1975.
Bill enjoyed playing golf and being an amateur radio operator, call letters W6LON and W6IA. Bill belonged to the Serra Club at St. Agnes Church and he volunteered as a meeting leader for Recovery, IntI., a self-help mental health organization.
He was predeceased by son Peter and wife Joan and is survived by brother James Hirst, sister Anne Tomaszewski, children Elizabeth (David Bruns), James, Rosalind (Jay Powell), William III (Maria), Patricia, Lawrence, Christopher and Matthew, eleven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, October 25, 2012 at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Point Loma with burial at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Donations may be made in his name to Recovery, San Diego Hospice or Point Loma Nazarene University Sports Associates.
Published in U-T San Diego on Oct. 14, 2012 - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/utsandiego/obituary.aspx?n=william-basil-captain-usn-hirst-ret&pid=160397188#sthash.UDjE72r4.dpuf