William Ray Parr

Bill Parr passed away at home surrounded by family June 23, 2017. He was born in Berkeley, Ca. To Mary Moran and Robert Butts. Bill spent his youth in the East Bay until 5th grade when his family moved to Mississippi with his step-father's Air Force command. From there they traveled to the Philippines, then France and finally to South Carolina where he graduated high school. He returned to the Bay Area, attended San Francisco State and then Sonoma State where he graduated in 1961 with the first class to graduate from the new physics department. Bill married Christine Bautista in 1961 and together they welcomed their son James in 1962 and daughter, Julianna in 1972. Bill started working at the County of Sonoma in their Information Systems Dept in 1971. He designed and implemented systems for many departments within the county including the Recorder, Auditor, Justice, Budget and Payroll Departments. After 34 years of service he retired in 2004 as Head of the Systems Department. Bill married Peggy Simmons in 2002. She was the love of his life and they enjoyed traveling and many shared hobbies including gardening, biking, books and music. He developed his creative side by teaching himself woodworking, mastering marquetry and box making. Bill was a selfless individual who quietly made life better for those around him. Bill is survived by his loving wife Peggy, his adored children James (Sherry), Julianna (Coral), two step-children, Anne Simmons and Sam Simmons as well as four grandchildren, Nikki, (Jacob), James, Jr., Ian (MaryAnn) and Michael as well as one great-grandchild, Lianne. A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, July 30th at 1:00 at Ragle Park Gazebo area, Sebastopol, CA.