Bill Archbold

Bill Archbold was born in Palermo, Sicily on April 18, 1950, to Jack and Beverly Archbold. They moved to Burlingame two years later where he grew up with his two brothers, John and Jim Archbold. Bill was a gifted athlete throughout his life, breaking records in swimming and water polo at Serra High School in San Mateo. He married his first love and high school sweetheart, Karen Archbold, in 1976 and they remained married until her passing in 2012. Bill and Karen had two children, Erik Archbold and Lisa Baker. Bill and his family moved to Petaluma in 1987 and bought an old Victorian house. Bill spent the next 14 plus years remodeling and adding to it during his days off from his career as a general contractor. In the late nineties, Bill and Karen became co-owners of a small manufacturing business, which they have now passed on to their children.

Bill was an avid Kayaker and lover of all things in nature. He spent many years volunteering as a kayak guide for an organization called Environmental Traveling Companions. They took at-risk youth and people with disabilities on kayaking adventures. It was through this organization that he met the second love of his life, Barbara Scott. They married in March of 2020. Much of their lives together were spent kayaking, traveling around in their RV visiting friends and relatives across the country, as well as adventuring to many other countries. Travel was a passion of Bill's. He was able to visit places in Italy, Guatemala, Alaska, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and Canada along with many beautiful places in the United States. Bill also took an immense amount of joy in spending time with his grandchildren. They brought so much joy to his life, and he to theirs. Another one of Bill's favorite pastimes was reading. He was fortunate enough to be a part of a men’s book group for the past thirty years, made up of various close friends that he made throughout his life. He very much treasured being a part of that group up until the very end. Bill had many traditions in his life that were very dear to his heart. Here are just a few of them: camping at Lake Pillsbury every Father’s Day with his family and friends; canoe/kayak camping at Ahjumawi in October with friends; spending Thanksgiving in Encinitas with family; Labor Day at the Russian River; having BLTs and mimosas with his family on Christmas mornings, and getting in his beloved hot tub around 5:00 each evening with his gin and tonic; listening to his favorite Pandora station; or reading a book. He took pleasure in the simple things and knew what life was all about, enjoying the ride with family and friends.

To know Bill was to love him. He lived his life as if love and gratitude were his religion. He was always jovial and saw the positive in almost all situations. Everyone who was fortunate enough to know Bill was positively impacted by him in some way. He radiated love and light and had a smile and a twinkle in his eye that was contagious. He passed away much like he lived his life; surrounded by family, friends, love, and gratitude. If you would like to celebrate the life of this amazing man, we will be having a gathering in his honor on November 19th at 320 6th St., Petaluma, CA 94952 at 2:00 (weather permitting). In lieu of sending the family flowers or gifts, you can donate to Environmental Traveling Companions (etctrips.org), an organization that was near and dear to his heart.

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Memorial Service

Saturday, November 19, 2022

2:00 PM

Family Residence