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William “Bill” W. Deputy, age 96, passed away peacefully on December 28, 2019 at the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital. He is survived by the love of his life and wife of 74 years, Laura Johnsen Deputy; his three children Jan Louy, Carol Roberts (Mike) and Bill Deputy Jr. (Kathy); 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Bill, a World War II veteran, was born in Rawlins, Wyoming on June 20th, 1923. He attended Vista del Mar School and graduated from Santa Barbara High School. Drafted by the United States Army in 1943, he was assigned to the 261st Field Artillery unit. Sailing in the ship the USS West Point, the unit arrived in Le Harve, France in 1944 where the unit disembarked. The route through northern France and Belgium took them to the sounds and sights of the raging “Battle of the Bulge”. Eventually, they arrived in Germany on December 25. It was on Friday the 13th of July, 1945 they received word that they were redeploying back to the United States.

After returning from the war, Bill married his love, Laura Johnsen Deputy in 1945. He became a successful heavy-duty master mechanic and continued to work into his mid-eighties.

Bill was an active member in the community. He was past president of the Santa Barbara Trail Riders, a member of the Santa Ynez Valley Elks and a 32nd degree Mason. He worked tirelessly as member of the Santa Ynez Valley Equestrian Association, where an arena is named after him to this date. He and Laura were among the founding members of the Santa Ynez Team Penning Association.

He and Laura enjoyed many trips in their motorhome where they loved fishing in the Sierras. His humor, dedication and smile will be missed.