Willard (Bill) Harvey Wattenburg, Jr.

Willard (Bill) Harvey Wattenburg Jr., died Aug. 2, surrounded by his family. He was 82.

Wattenburg was born Feb. 9, 1936, in Chico, California, to parents Willard "Pop" Wattenburg Sr. and Hazel (Conover). In his early childhood, his family moved often as his father's work as a mechanic took them to Livermore, Oakland, Berkeley, Turlock, back to Chico, and then to the mountains of Plumas County in Northeastern California in 1942, which many generations of Wattenburg’s have called home ever since. He graduated from high school in 1953, attended college in Chico, earned his bachelor's degree in engineering then moved on to U.C. Berkeley where he earned his Ph.D.s in engineering and physics, subsequently becoming a professor of those subjects at that same institution. He then joined the nuclear weapons design teams at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a relationship that would persist throughout the rest of his life.

He ventured into television and radio in the early 1970s, a passion he enjoyed for the next 40 years, which also led to dabbling in the movie industry. Throughout these adventures, he maintained his connection to the mountains and often had business ventures pertaining to logging and mining. Wattenburg fashioned his career as a scientist who came up with novel solutions to perplexing problems.

Wattenburg was important to many people and well-known for his love of children and education as well as his lifelong commitment to helping those in need. In furtherance of this commitment, his family asks that heart-felt gestures of condolence and remembrance be directed in the form of student scholarship support to the Butte Creek Foundation, 14916 Eagle Ridge Drive, Forest Ranch, California, 95942, phone (530) 345-1097.

He is survived by his wife, son and four daughters, many adoring grandchildren, along with his sister, brother and many nieces and nephews. Wattenburg’s family will remember him during a private gathering.