William (Bill) James Bowers, 94, passed away in Laguna Beach, CA on the morning of November 24, 2022. Bill was born in San Diego, CA on October 31, 1928, to Elizabeth Richert Bowers and James Parsons Bowers. In 1958, he married Joanne Grassl Bowers, who survives him, along with their three children, Laura Bice (Dominic Cirone) of Phoenix, AZ, Kerry Bowers (Tom Ashbrook) of Laguna Beach, CA, and William (Bill) Bowers Jr. (Kathleen Millican) of San Rafael, CA. He is also survived by his five grandchildren, Paul Bice, Stefanie Bice, Alexandra Bice, Marianna Krumrine, and Grady Bowers; his sister, Marlene Lilley; his nephew, Jim Lilley; and his niece, Michelle Brown.

While growing up, Bill enjoyed working on Model T cars and spending time at the beach. As a student at Monrovia High School, his favorite subject was math, he sang in the school choir, participated in plays, and competed in broad jump for the track team. At the University of Southern California he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and was the manager of the USC track team. He graduated from USC in 1951 with a B.S. in Advertising. He then served three years as an aviation electronics instructor and Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. After his discharge, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles where he was a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering honorary society and graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering with honors in 1958. After graduation, he worked as a systems engineer and engineering manager at Consolidated Electrodynamics Corporation (CEC) and founded the South Monrovia Kiwanis Club. While working at CEC, he met and fell in love with Joanne, and they married in 1958. Together, they began raising their family in Monrovia then Claremont and moved to Mission Viejo, California in 1971. With his innovative mind and expertise in electronics, he co-founded Marketing Systems Incorporated (MSI) in 1967, working out of his garage in Claremont, California. The electronics company became a pioneer in hand-held data collection systems and barcode scanning. He served as President and Chairman for MSI as it grew with great success over the years, becoming a public company, eventually acquired by Symbol Technologies, Inc., which is now Motorola. In 1980, he moved to Three Arch Bay in Laguna Beach, CA with Joanne, and their son Bill Jr., where he and Joanne have lived for the past 42 years. After retiring from his company in 1989, he served on the boards of Intertel, American Electronics Association, Cipher Data Products, Teradata, and Pacific National Bank, among others. In retirement he also worked for 10 years as a counselor for SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and sat on the board of St. Margaret's Episcopal School. For many years, he was a member of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

On top of his incredible professional achievements, Bill knew how to enjoy time with his family. Together, Joanne and Bill saw the world, traveling all over the U.S. and visiting most of the countries in Western Europe, the UK, Russia, Dubrovnik, Malta, Egypt, Kenya, Argentina, Antarctica, Mexico, China, Korea, and Chile. They also enjoyed going to the beach, playing tennis, going on four- wheeling adventures, and solving crossword puzzles together. Having been born on Halloween, he raised his kids and grandkids on his legendary scary stories and was an infamous prankster. After all, he won Joanne's heart by pretending to trip down the stairs at work. From 1969-1980, the family spent many memorable summers and school breaks at the family beach house at Capistrano Shores, where Bill sailed his Hobie Cat up and down the coast of San Clemente, often taking the kids along for the ride. He loved riding motorcycles in the desert, bringing Joanne back artichoke blooms. Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. rode their dirt bikes all over the undeveloped land surrounding their condo in Bermuda Dunes, California. Bill was determined to ski until the age of 70 to enjoy free ski passes, but by the time he turned 70, they had raised the age of a free pass to 75. So, he made sure to ski until his late 70s, enjoying a free ski pass and skiing with his kids and grandkids into his 80s. Bill was a family historian, having extensively researched both his and Joanne's side of the family. An ardent videographer of family events, he artistically told the story of the life he created for his family. With his incredible musical ear, he filled his home with the sound of jazz piano, arranged and recorded his own renditions of classics, and fostered a love for music among his children and grandchildren. He is greatly beloved by his family and friends and will be incredibly missed. There will be a private funeral. In lieu of flowers, donations can me made to St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in San Juan Capistrano, CA.