Yolo County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....TAUZER , William J. January 3 2004 ********************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/obits/ca/obitsca.htm ********************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Peggy B. Perazzo pbperazzo@comcast.net July 13, 2004, 10:40 pm "The Davis Enterprise," Wednesday, January 14, 2004 William J. Tauzer William J. Tauzer died Jan. 3, 2004, at his family's ranch near Davis, after a short battle with cancer. He was 83. He was born Jan. 27, 1920, on the family homestead - about a mile from where he passed away - in the Willow Slough district. His parents, George W. and Roberta (Pettygrove) Tauzer, were both descendants of California pioneer families. In 1938 he graduated from Woodland High School, where he played on the football team and was active in the Plainfield 4-H Club. After high school he continued farming while attending classes at UC Davis, until the outbreak of World War II. During the war, he served in the Merchant Marine and in the U.S. Army aboard transport and smaller vessels. On Feb. 13, 1943, the tug on which he was a crewman ran aground on a rocky Alaskan cape during a blinding snowstorm. He volunteered to swim a line to shore, enabling 12 men to escape drowning. For his actions he was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal and Meritorious Service Medal. After the war's end, he continued on in the 8th Army, which was occupying Japan. He captained a small Harbor Patrol craft out of Yokohama that patrolled Tokyo Bay. In 1948 he retired as a sergeant and returned home. It was at this same time he met Jeanne M. Burley, an office worker in the War Department in San Francisco. They soon married and settled on the family ranch, and he re-enrolled at UCD under the G.I. Bill. In 1950 a car the couple was traveling in was struck by a truck. He suffered a broken hip, crippling him for life. In spite of his handicap, he managed to run and develop his ranch from raw land. Following a long battle with cancer, his wife died in 1970. He met Suzanne Fowler and they married in 1973. He continued ranching, operating a cow-calf operation for many years, later in partnership with his son. He served as a volunteer fireman in the Plainfield and Springlake Fire Districts and as a member of the Farm Bureau. His hobbies included fishing, hunting, boating and playing cards. He will be remembered for his perseverance, strong sense of ethics and fair play, good nature and sense of humor, his family said. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jeanne, brother Edwin and granddaughter Tracey Tauzer. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Suzanne Tauzer of Davis; stepdaughters, Andrea Brewer of Fair Oaks and Linda Gilson of Boulder Creek; daughter, Susie Tauzer of Woodland; and son, Ted Tauzer, his wife, Shelley, and their children, Jeremy, Todd, Bryan, Amy and Stephanie, all of Davis. He is also survived by his brothers and sisters, George Tauzer of Santa Rosa and his wife, Janet, Robert Tauzer of Pollock Pines and his wife, Dolores, Nadine Burns of Dallas and her husband, Don, Marlene Federwitz of Sacramento and her husband, Don, as well as sister-in-law Mary Tauzer of Korbel. A memorial service will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Grace Valley Christian Center, 27173 County Road 98, in Davis. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Yolo Hospice, P.O. Box 1014, Davis CA 95616, or Wycliffe Bible Translators, P.O. Box 620847, Orlando FL 32962. Additional Comments: "The Davis Enterprise," 315 G Street, Davis, CA 95616. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/yolo/obits/gob679tauzer.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/caobfiles/ File size: 3.9 Kb