Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

William Clyde Kedinger was born in 1918, to Wyatt and Nicholas Kedinger in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was only 17 when he was born and his father was 10 years older. His mother was a homemaker, while Bill's father was serving in the Navy. The family moved often, following his father's military career. After moving to Charleston, South Carolina, the family relocated to Manila and then to China when Bill was 13. During the Great Depression, the family lived in China. Bill spoke glowingly of his time in China and had many happy memories of his years in the Orient. His mother was very independent and organized everything for Bill, as his father was working on a ship. After moving to Bremerton, Washington, the family moved to Long Beach, California. The family lived in Long Beach during the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933. Bill's high school was partially knocked down by the Earthquake and was rebuilt. His years at that high school changed his life forever when he met Bette, a 16-year-old young lady three years younger than him in school. As they were both "the only child" in their families, they had a lot in common. The couple became high school sweethearts. Bill went on to graduate from Long Beach Polytechnic High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the College of Commerce.

Bette and Bill married in a lovely Long Beach church ceremony in 1941. They spent their honeymoon in Yosemite. In 1944, Bill was in the United States Navy, serving his country on the San Diego base. He and Bette lived in an apartment off the base. After serving his country proudly, the couple first lived at 625 Cedar. Professionally, Bill became a successful accountant, working hard to be a wonderful provider to his family.

The couple had three children: Sandy, Steve and Laurie. All three of the kids were born at Seaside Hospital in Long Beach. The kids had a great childhood. Their grandparents were all alive and as the only grandchildren, they felt very loved and treasured. The whole family had great fun together. In 1956, the family moved to their beautiful home on Cerritos Drive. Bill loved the house because it had an incredible den with a bar in it. Bette and Bill went out dancing together every Saturday night. They both loved Latin and Jazz music, especially songs by Poncho Sanchez and Cal Tjader. Bill had a large collection of vinyl records. At home, the couple enjoyed dancing and throwing parties. They had some fabulous parties in the den, turning it into a dance floor by the bar. Bill was a very gracious host as the parties were casual, welcoming and comfortable for everyone. He was a big audio guy and built speakers throughout the ceiling of their home and he enlarged the den. There's a lot of history in that den, as many stories make the family smile. Laurie had lots of fun times Disco dancing with her parents, In Long Beach and the mountains. As parents, they were hip to the times.

Bette loved the Christmas holiday by decorating the Christmas tree and buying presents. She was a wonderful Santa. Bill, meanwhile, loved hanging up the Christmas lights outside – NOT. But, holidays were always memorable. Grandma Wyatt cooked for the holidays. Bette and Bill stayed young, fun-loving, and active as they went with the times. They had a cabin in Twin Peaks near Lake Arrowhead and the family spent every summer there. Bette had inherited the cabin after her family purchased it in 1929. From the day school was out in June until Labor Day, the family enjoyed the cabin. They even took the family cat, Rusty, to the cabin. It was wonderful as there was a hammock and the kids played in the yard. There was also a pool, a lake, and hiking up to the peak. One time, Bill was lacing up Laurie's ice skates at the ice skating rink and he cut his forehead on her skate. It was all part of parenting and he liked to see his kids having fun. Every summer, the kids slept out on the back porch, unless it was raining. Bill traveled back and forth to his work as an accountant in Long Beach, while the family stayed at the cabin. It was 1,200 square feet with no telephone. The kids would have to run across the street to use a phone if they needed to talk to a friend. In fact, Sandy fell in love with Tim, the boy across the street and eventually married him.

Bill was proud when he bought a brand new 1964 silver and blue metallic Corvette for $4,000. He took Steve to lunch in Los Angeles in that car and it was great fun. Bill had a great sense of humor and had amazing stories that the family loved hearing. There were wonderful vacations over the years to Yosemite, Tahoe, and Carmel. As a couple, they enjoyed going to Las Vegas. Bill watched football from time to time on television, but his favorite station was the History Channel. He took a great interest in photography. He owned nice cameras and really had a lot of different state-of-the-art equipment. He was self-taught, but he turned out amazing photos of his children and grandchildren by using special filters. It was an enjoyable hobby. To their grandchildren, Bette was "Grammie" and Bill was "Pa."

Bill loved playing tennis and he was good at it. He also taught Steve how to play. Even when he was 60 and Steve was only 27, Steve couldn't beat him. Steve finds himself playing tennis with his son, Wyatt, now. Following in his father's footsteps, Steve is now the one who is hard to beat on the tennis court. Bill spent summers with the grandkids at the cabin. He made sure every generation enjoyed the property. Bette and Bill were wonderful grandparents. Bette liked dressing up the grandkids. She even dressed up the dogs. Bill enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren as he loved each one. For their 50th wedding anniversary, the family held a celebration at the Lakewood Country Club with dancing.

As Bette wanted Bill to retire, he finally did at the age of 80. But, unexpectedly, she passed away six months after his retirement. Bette was the love of his life. After she died in 1999, he was lonely and it was very difficult. A few months after her death, Bette's friend, Nola, met with Bill when they were going to computer classes. Nola became his girlfriend and they had dinners and went to movies together over the last decade. The family was grateful Bill was able to live at home until the end. His caregiver, Joy, helped him Monday through Friday since November 2007. Joy became a good friend and they watched a lot of movies together and talked about Manila and the Philippines.

The family has great memories of their mother and dad with the legendary parties at home in Long Beach and at the cabin in the mountains. Bill also provided for his family by working hard and lived his life by example. He had a positive outlook and he was happy, fun-loving, supportive and dancing through life with an uplifting spirit. He and Bette had a great life together and in fact, he recently told his daughter, "I lived a good life." He told Joy he wanted to be with his wife again and maybe he was ready to go, because during the last week of his life, he was very clear and very positive. Sandy will miss talking with him by phone once a week. They'd talk about movies, television, and current events. He was sharp and he had opinions about politics and the last election because it was so different than other elections. Steve will miss talking about life, family, politics and big screen TVs, as he loved his big screen in the den. Laurie will miss calling him a couple times a day and seeing him every week. She'll miss him coming to her house for birthday and holiday celebrations with family and friends. Bill's 90th birthday was a wonderful celebration poolside at Laurie and Tim's house. Bill was conservative and he advised moderation in life. His advice to his family and friends would be to go on with your lives and make him proud.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Bette. He is loved and remembered by his daughter Sandy and her husband Tim; son Steve and his wife Corrinne; daughter Laurie and her husband Tim; grandchildren Kim, Jenny, Kally, Wyatt, Christina, and Sean; great-grandchildren Kaitlin, Nathan, Justin, and Jason; and many friends.

May he rest in peace…