Cover photo for Bill Hart's Obituary

Bill Hart

Bill Hart

Bill Hart
1933-2019

William (Bill) Franklin Hart, age 85, departed this world on the wings of angels on Wednesday, June 12, 2019.

He leaves behind his three children: Tiffany Jacobs of Springfield, Oregon; Tom Hart of Denver, Colorado; and Diana Roman of Horseshoe Bend, Idaho; as well as his sister, Judy Meinke of La Crescenta, California. He also leaves behind eight grandchildren: Smokie, Matthew, Sandra, Jonathan, Rocky, Clay, Tom II (Indy), Karin; and twelve great-grandchildren: Orion, Aurora, Tristan, Evie, Kevin, Tyler, Jaxyn, Jamisen, Isla, Aspen, Everett, Hudson, and Sterling.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Marion (Penny) Hart, his parents, Ralph and Mildred Hart, his brother-in-law, Don Meinke, and his niece, Kathy Meinke.

The second of two children, Bill was born in Boston, Massachusetts and remained there until the age of eight. After a short stay in Texas, his parents moved to Burbank, California where Bill spent his teenage years and graduated from Van Nuys High School.

After high school, Bill joined the Navy to “see the world.” He saw Hong Kong, Japan, South East Asia, and Panama, to name a few places. He served on repair ship USS Ajax and tug USS Tawasa. He loved to tease that he was stationed on Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands where there was “a beautiful woman behind every tree.” (There were no trees on Adak Island.) He served from 1952 until 1956, spanning both the Korean War and th e Vietnam War. During his duty on the Ajax, he was part of operation "Passage to Freedom," providing support for a group of US Navy ships sent to carry 310,000 Vietnamese refugees -- civilians, soldiers and members of the French Army -- from the Hanoi/Haiphong area of Communist North Vietnam, down to Saigon.

After the Navy, Bill attended Los Angeles Technical Trade College where he received an Associate of Arts in Architectural Drafting, going from structural and civil engineering draftsman to Principle Designer and supervising eight designers. His projects included major oil refineries … and portions of Disneyland.

Bill and his future wife, Penny, met when children and shared their first kiss when he was thirteen years old. They married on October 5, 1957 after Bill left the Navy. Their family grew to include two daughters and a son. Bill and Penny were inseparable, spending the following 57 loving years together. He was a wonderful father, grandfather, great-grandfather and easy friend. He loved to dress up as Santa Claus at Christmas to bring joy to his grandchildren and later in life to his great-grandchildren.

He loved the Lord and embodied what it means to be a Christian, loving all those around him. His last church family was the Eagle Church of the Nazarene where he and Penny made many close friends. A lover of all of God's creatures, he maintained a small oasis in his yard where he fed visiting wild birds and squirrels. His hobbies were caring for his home and building models of the USS Constitution which was built in t he Edmund Hartt Sh ipyard—believed to be a relative of the Hart family. A dog lover, dogs were a constant companion and friend, with his basset hounds Barney, Buster, and Buddy being especially treasured.

Bill will best be remembered for his loving kindness. Even in his final days, he expressed more concern for others than himself, with “I love you” becoming his greeting and his farewell.

The family wishes to express their gratitude to the loving staff of Grace Assisted Living for the great care they took of Bill and the loving community they created for him.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30am on Tuesday, June 25, at the Eagle Church of the Nazarene in Eagle, Idaho. Following the service, there will be a short committal at 1:00pm at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery.

Flowers may be sent to Alden-Waggoner Funeral Home, Boise, Idaho; phone (208) 376-5400. In lieu of flowers, donations to any charity of choice that provides for animal welfare would be especially appreciated by Bill.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Bill Hart, please visit our flower store.

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