William “Bill” John Castro, Sr., 87, of Long Beach, passed away Thursday, May 2nd. Bill was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 26, 1926 to Frank and Elizabeth Castro and was raised in the Kalihi-Palama neighborhood where he attended Likelike Grammar School, Kalihi Kai Elementary, Kalakaua Intermediate School and Roosevelt High School. He worked at Pearl Harbor Shipyard from 1941-1953 and enlisted in the U.S. Army in December 1945 as a Private for the duration of WWII. In 1953 Bill married his sweetheart, Genevieve Leialoha Ledward in Hawaii before being transferred to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard where he worked as a Combat Systems Engineer. He continued his education at Vocational School and traveled abroad on sea trials developing, evaluating and testing the electronics on the weaponry of many U.S. Naval ships. He retired in 1986 from the Department of Defense as a Project Manager.
Outside of work, Bill was active in Judo for nearly 50 years holding the rank of Godan 5th Degree Black Belt. He was President of the Southern Pacific Judo Yudanshakai of the U.S. Judo Federation for numerous years up until his passing and was a longtime member of the Long Beach Judo Dojo since the early 1960s.
He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Genevieve; four children, William “Billy” Castro, Jr. of Laguna Niguel, SandraLee McNece of Long Beach, Brenda Caplinger and her husband, Michael of Port Hueneme, and Edward Castro of Redlands; three grandchildren, Matthew McNece, Andrew Castro and Lauren Castro; two great-grandchildren, Matthew McNece and Dylan McNece; and a step-granddaughter, Carrie Caplinger. He is also survived by his sister, Shirley-Ann Medeiros of Nevada and many nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, May 16th, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon with a graveside service and reception to follow at All Souls Mortuary, 4400 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, (562) 424-8601. Please sign the guest book.
Place of birth: Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii
Place of death: Harbor City, California
Created By: His loving daughter, Brenda Castro Caplinger