Bill Humphries, 92, Longtime Local Resident, Remembered

William J. "Bill" Humphries (Oct. 21, 1918 to May 20, 2011) has passed away peacefully from congestive heart failure at the age of 92. 

Born in Gordonville, Texas, he came out to Los Angeles at age 17 on his own putting himself through high school, Los Angeles City College and UCLA.  He and Ruthie married June 14, 1941. While working in the Civil Service he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to Civil Service and back to active naval duty in Korea.  He remained active in the Naval Reserve for many years while working for the Treasury Department and retired from the Navy as a commander. He and Ruthie loved dancing, tennis, nights out with their many friends and the annual Lake Tahoe vacations, as well as other world travel.

Settling in our two-story Spanish Colonial Revival house (that my mother “cried for” as he put it) in 1958 after bouncing back and forth between North Hollywood and San Diego for Treasury Department job assignments he spent 52 years on Camellia. 

His final year was spent living with his son Doug two miles away in Valley Village while the Camellia house undergoes restoration and remodeling work and will remain in the family. 

He and Ruthie played tennis several times per week, mostly in Studio City Park where he would arrive early in the morning with a large squeegee and dry the courts so anyone showing up to play would have a dry court to play on.  He always liked to try to give anybody in need some instruction (whether they wanted it or not). 

On a couple of occasions they played doubles with Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors just before they were married and she became famous. He played tennis until about age 88 or 89 when his health problems made it too difficult to get around.

They would go out dancing with friends that they knew back from high school and some back to elementary school (with my mother) to the music of their generation (Sinatra, Bennett, Nat King Cole, etc. and later the music of Sergio Mendes, Jobim, Herb Alpert, etc.). In my Dad’s last year he loved listening to Patsy Cline and Sinatra mostly. He told me a story of when he and mom were dating and dancing somewhere like the Ambassador Hotel ballroom and Louis Armstrong came over to them on the dance floor and said, “She even makes you look good” (dancing). My mom was the “dancer,” but I think my dad always looked pretty smooth on the dance floor.

Dad worked as a volunteer at the UCLA Blood Donor Center as a blood recruiter for many years in his later retirement, which he only gave up when I had to stop him from driving after he was starting to have too many misadventures. 

In recent years when anyone asked him how he was he would reply, “This is the best day of my life, I woke up and I was alive." He was someone who truly lived each day to the fullest. 

His passing was preceded by that of his wife of 60 years and sisters Barbara and Jean. He is survived by his three children: Susan, Greg and Doug, four grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and youngest sister, Patricia. 

He will be missed by family, Studio City neighbors and the few surviving of many old friends.