William Henry Gustafson

On Friday April 26, 2019 William Henry Gustafson peacefully went home to be with the Lord at the age of 89. Bill (or “Billy” as he was referred to in his younger years) was born on July 28, 1929 at 8:12 pm in the Wichita Hospital of Wichita Kansas to Carl E. and Merle R Gustafson.

In his younger years, Billy attended Stanley Elementary and Allison Intermediate School before earning his diploma at North High School in Wichita. At the age of 16, young Bill began working at Sutton Electric Co. in Wichita as an electrician. He continued as an electrician throughout his high school and undergraduate schooling; working during the summer months to earn extra money. He attended the University of Wichita before moving to Chicago to study at Northwestern University. There he also worked in cost accounting at Automatic Electric Company. His hobby was stamp collecting and enjoyed participating in bowling and golf.

In June of 1951 William was drafted into the US Army. He completed his basic training and student training at Camp Gordon GA, then went on to general unit training in cryptography in California as part of the 303rd Signal Service Battalion. After training he served in Korea in the 304th Signal Service Battalion operations earning a Korean service medal with 2 campaign stars and a United Nations service medal. William earned his honorable discharge from the Army in May of 1953.

Following a brief stay back in Wichita, he returned to California to attend law school at UCLA earning both BA and LLB degrees. William also served 5 years in the army reserve. After his graduation from law school in June of 1957, William held various jobs as an electrician before securing a position in the Deputy District Attorney’s office for the County of Los Angeles in 1959, a career that lasted 33 years.

He remained in Westwood until enough money was saved to buy his first home in Palms CA. William began regularly attending church at Bel Air Presbyterian around 1967. His love for the Lord and missions began to grow at Bel Air and soon he would meet the love of his life. William married Marilyn Whitlock on April 6, 1968 at the church. They began their lives together serving the Lord and soon they were blessed with a daughter. Janice was born on December 29, 1970. In July of 1973, William, Marilyn and Janice moved from Palms to Lomita CA. They began attending Rolling Hills Covenant Church in 1973. Son John was born March 1, 1975.

Bill’s involvement in the church increased after his retirement, particularly in missions. His support for them included an 11 year tenure at Go Ye Fellowship as well as being a member of the missions commission at RHCC. Much of his later retirement years were spent at the Canterbury Retirement Community where he continued to serve others by acting as the president of assisted living. He enjoyed welcoming prospective residents and giving them tours of the facility. He financially supported the church and missions when he was unable to continue physically. Bill loved his alma mater and regularly attended both UCLA football and basketball games. He attended games from his time at school and remained an avid stamp collector.

He will always be remembered as a loving and caring person who showed leadership, compassion and generosity to everyone he touched. We were all blessed to have had the chance to know him.

William is survived by his 2 children, Janice Devine of Little Rock, AR and John Gustafson of Lomita CA, his 2 grandchildren Charles Devine IV of Manassas, VA and Caleb Devine of Chantilly, VA.

In lieu of flowers donations can be sent to the Rolling Hills Covenant Church missions committee. Please make checks out to RHCC and write "William Gustafson Memorial Fund" in the memo line. All donations are tax deductible.

Rolling Hills Covenant Church
2222 Palos Verdes Drive North
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90275