Bill was born in Reedley, CA, on January 5, 1912 and was the oldest of eight children. He lived almost his entire life in nearby Dinuba where he farmed and grew peaches and other fruit under the "AWAKE" label. Bill attended Reedley College and then U.C. Berkeley, where he graduated with a degree in architecture in 1935.
During World War II, the entire family was incarcerated along with other Americans of Japanese descent in the Poston Relocation Center in Arizona. It was in Poston that Bill met and wed his wife Mary in 1943.
With the end of the war, family responsibilities dictated that he return to Dinuba to take over the farm that they had been forced to leave. He became a successful fruit grower due to a combination of his own natural talents and his willingness to work tirelessly. In his later years, he was slowed by severe injuries suffered in an auto accident, and then by a stroke, but his inherent strong core allowed him to persevere.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents and by his sister, Edna Shiota. He is also survived by his siblings: May Iwahashi, Alice Sakai, Lloyd Wake, Florence Nagano, Lillian Koda, and Betty Machida.
