Read William "Bill" Magoolaghan, Jr.'s Obituary & Leave Condolences

In memory of

William "Bill" Magoolaghan, Jr.

Kelseyville, CA, USA

February 18, 1940 - February 28, 2021

Feb 18, 1940 - Feb 28, 2021

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Lake County lost a singularly adventurous, generous and fun-loving soul when William Magoolaghan, Jr. of Clearlake Riviera passed away on February 28.

Born in Brooklyn, New York on February 18, 1940 to English-Irish immigrants William, Sr. and Mary Ellen Magoolaghan, the younger William (aka, "Bill”) spent his early years in Queens Village, New York, attending Power Memorial High School. Bill married Theresa J. on June 24, 1961 after meeting her through his youngest sister, Mary. They remained inseparable and happily married for almost 60 years.

In his twenties Bill worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance in New York City while attending St. Johns University, earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Business. After living in Levittown, Long Island for five years, during which time their family’s size expanded to seven, Bill and Theresa (aka "Maggie") moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1973. They were the first on either side of their families to move beyond a five-mile radius of their relatives’ households.

In Phoenix Bill worked in the burgeoning field of Information Technology for Siemens and Greyhound/Armour-Dial, while attaining a Masters of Business Administration at Arizona State University. Moving to the San Francisco Bay area in 1985, Bill worked as an I.T. manager for Fireman’s Fund Insurance in San Rafael. Having delivered a crucial Y2K project ahead of time and under budget by employing programming students from local colleges to debug the company's code, Bill retired in 1999.

Prior to moving to Lake Country, Bill and Maggie lived in Rohnert Park, where they hosted a number of foreign exchange students who attended nearby Sonoma State University, where Maggie also earned a Bachelors degree in Psychology. Several of those students later invited the Magoolaghans to visit them in their home countries. Thanks to those invitations Bill and Maggie were able to explore the cultures of Japan and Thailand. They remained in touch with the former SSU students for several decades.

Bill spent his retirement in Lake County enjoying his favorite pastimes: playing golf, volunteering for his community and church, traveling, taking adult education courses, and spending time with his ever-expanding family. He served as the Lake County Fair Commissioner, and held multiple volunteer roles for the Kelseyville Unitarian-Universalist Church, the Lake County Democratic Party and the Lake County Grand Jury. He was also active in Lake County’s Sons in Retirement (SIRS) group, with whom he planned and participated in multiple golf tournaments and trips, including to the famous course in Pebble Beach.

Bill is survived by his wife of 59 years, Theresa (aka, “Maggie”) Magoolaghan, his five children & their spouses (Michael, William III (Buddy) & Betti, Alison, Paul & Kate and Amy & Tom), nine grandchildren (T.J., Timothy, Angela, Eleanor, Charlotte, Gabriella, Liam, Cole, and Madison), and his beloved dacshund, Murphy.

In lieu of flowers his wife and family suggest making a donation to St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital or another charity of choice. A celebration of Bill's life will be held at a later date once the COVID pandemic subsides.

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