February 16, 1929 – November 14, 2022
William (Bill) Eitner, 93, of San Carlos, CA passed away on November 14, 2022 after a yearlong battle with colon cancer. Bill was born (Wolfgang Hermann Eitner) on February 16, 1929 to Willy Hermann Eitner & Hedwig Marta Eitner in Rosslau, East Germany.
He was forced into joining the German Army at the very end of WWII when he was 16. He had always been very thankful that he never had to shoot anybody. When the war ended, his hometown ended up in the Russian occupied zone under communist rule. He escaped and headed to the west side of Germany at 17. At 22, he was granted a visa for Canada, and subsequently the United States where he met his wife, Yolanda Cortes. He was drafted into the US Army and became a naturalized citizen and changed his name to William. In 1956, his wife, Yolanda, gave birth to their only child, a son, also named William. After the army, he returned to San Francisco and got a job at RCA Communications as a Radio Control Operator, and then as an aircraft mechanic at United Airlines where he worked until he retired after 25 years.
In 1968 the family moved to San Carlos, CA. Bill would like to sit in his backyard, smoking his pipe, watching the clouds drift by, and write poetry. In 1999, his wife of 45 years Yolanda passed away. He was married to his second wife Lydia Sutton for 7 years until she developed Alzheimer’s, she passed away in 2012.
Bill is survived by his son, William (Deborah), his 3 grandchildren, Bradley, Rebecca (Mitchell), Amanda (Julio), and his 6 great grandchildren, Makayla, Lucila, Charlotte, Noah, Jason, Isaac and his current girlfriend, Midge Graham.
Celebration of Life will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Redwood City on December 10 at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to either World Vision or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.