Obituary of William Stanton Bagnall

William "Bill" Stanton Bagnall passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Jan. 12th surrounded by his family after a courageous battle with cancer. Throughout his life Bill has had a profound impact on his family and the community that will endure not only through the lives that he enriched, but also through the iconic buildings he designed in Santa Cruz and Central California over the course of his architectural career including, the Flat Iron Building, Resurrection Church, the Casino and Plunge Restoration, Neptune's Kingdom, and Vintners Inn in Santa Rosa. Bill was born on January 22, 1932 in Long Beach, California to Dorothy and Cyril Bagnall. He grew up and attended high school in Redondo Beach. Outside of school Bill had many hobbies including abalone and lobster diving and surfing in Palos Verdes Cove and the surrounding areas. He was also on the Palos Verdes Estates volunteer fire department often mischievously driving the fire trucks up hills backwards. Bill attended and earned a degree in business from Menlo College and later graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Architecture. He served in the Navy and Navy Reserve for over 10 years. Bill met the love of his life, Louise Simich, at the age of 17 and the two married in San Pedro before ending up in Santa Cruz after college; where they started a family. In his early years he worked for Bowman and Williams Civil Engineers before starting his own practice. Over the past half century Bill has contributed by serving on various committees and boards. Some of his many accomplishments include: being appointed as one of the first two members to serve on the newly created City of Santa Cruz Zoning Board; serving on the City of Santa Cruz Building Appeals Board and Water Commission. Bill was also a member of the Santa Cruz Rotary Club, Art League and Chamber of Commerce. Beyond his numerous professional accomplishments and contributions, Bill's family and friends will remember him most for the humble, kind and generous man that he was. Bill was a serious bike rider and rode weekly until late in his life; a pursuit that was both inspiring and slightly worrisome for his family. He enjoyed the ocean, Wilder Ranch, and driving his Porsche. He was an amateur historian and one of his most prized accomplishments was writing a full family history book; which he presented to each family member on Christmas Day 2013. He collected coins, rare books and stamps and was also a master record keeper and has neatly organized just about every document ever received throughout his life. Bill was preceded in death by wife Louise, after being married for 60 years. He is survived by his four children, John (Kary), Sarah DeWorken, Kathy Smithers, and Peter (Lisa); his ten grandchildren, Brooke Crumpton (Enoch), Dameon DeWorken, Caitlin Gigliotti (Tom), Vince Smithers, Megan Larkin (Brandon), Natalie Smithers, Morgan Bagnall, Carly Bagnall, Taylor Bagnall and Jake Bagnall; and four great grandchildren, Charlie DeWorken, Damos DeWorken, Lucy Crumpton and Luca Gigliotti, all of whom love and miss him very much. A Celebration of Bill's Life will be held on Saturday, Jan. 30th, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm at the Back Nine Grill at Pasatiempo Inn. Memorial donations in Bill's memory can be made to your favorite charity.