William Joseph Picou
September 1, 1930 - March 8, 2007
Obituary
William Joseph PICOU
Born September 1, 1930 in Seattle, Washington, and always had a fascination and passion for airplanes and the travel industry in general. With his high school diploma in hand, he began his work career loading planes on ”the Ramp” for Northwest Airlines. His dedication and talent allowed him to steadily work his way up through the ranks over the next 33 years, and he retired as National Director of Sales. His career with the company gave him the opportunity to travel the world, and he and his family spent 8 years living in the orient in Okinawa, Japan and Korea. After retiring from Northwest Bill became quite an entrepreneur, using his management experience to own and operate the Top Hat Travel agency in Riverside, California. He will be remembered as a man of great integrity, a tireless advocate for his customers and for his involvement in the community as a president of the Jurupa Rotary and the Jurupa Chamber of Commerce. William Joseph Picou died peacefully at the age of 76 in his Moreno Valley, CA home on Wednesday, March 7, 2007. He had battled esophageal cancer for the past year. He was surrounded by family and friends. We are confident that Bill was greeted joyously by his father, Houston Joseph Picou, his mother, Elizabeth Ann LaBarre Picou, and his two sisters, Betty Ann Heyer and Myra Jean Gallant who passed on before him. He is survived by his wife and loving companion, Carol Daro, his daughter, Pennee Fredrickson of Little York, Illinois, his two sons, Christopher of Alpharetta, Georgia and Scott of Prospect Heights, Illinois, and four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. A Graveside Memorial will be held Wednesday, March 14, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. at Washington Memorial Park in Seattle, Washington where he will be laid to rest near the loved ones who have passed on before him.