William Herbert ‘Bill’ Sundius.
– William Herbert “Bill” Sundius, age 91, of Templeton, died on Sept. 20, after a brief illness. He was born in New Haven, Conn. on May 17, 1932. He earned his BS in Electrical Engineering at Yale University in 1959.
Bill served in the US Air Force from 1952 to 1956 and was stationed in Korea during the Korean War where his job was to intercept and translate Chinese radio communications. He was honorably discharged at the rank of staff sergeant.
Bill worked as an electrical engineer for several well-known firms including American Machine and Foundry, Burroughs Corporation, and Bif-Accutel. In 1986, he retired from engineering and did some part time work including consulting and photography.
He lived in Connecticut until 1968 when he moved the family to California. He lived in Thousand Oaks until 1986 when he moved to the central coast, living in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, and Templeton.
Bill was a lifelong ham radio enthusiast who built his own equipment as a teenager and was president of his high school’s radio club. He organized the ham radio team that supported the Paso Robles Pioneer Day parade.
Bill was an avid bicyclist and member of the Westlake Wheelmen. In 1972, he participated in a Bike-a-thon fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. He came in 4th out of 141 riders and rode 317 miles in 36 hours. He also biked through Germany with his club.
Bill started attending Atascadero Bible Church in 1994 and began working on staff in 1995. He worked as a custodian and then was in charge of room setups and did a lot of maintenance jobs for the church. He worked behind the scenes and according to his good friend and prior boss Chris Key, was the most faithful servant the church has ever had. He was dearly loved by many many people and worked tirelessly until just 10 days before going into the presence of Jesus. His faith was an essential part of his life, and he loved to study the bible, perform service to the lord, and to share his faith.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert W. and Helen Stevens of Hamden, Conn., and his sister, Virginia Sundius of Hamden, Conn., He is survived by his sons, David Sundius and wife Stephanie of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Eric Sundius of Sierra Vista, Ariz., and a grandson, Michael Sundius.