- By Peggy Perry -
Has anyone living at University Village
not used a Mastercard? Did you know that a fellow resident was on the team that developed that icon of the credit industry? Bill Michael, then working for the United Bank of California, helped represent the bank as UCB, Bank of California, Crocker and Wells Fargo teamed together in 1968 to offer an alternative to Bank of America’s then brand new, innovative VISA credit card.
Bill begins relating his life story by referring to himself as a former B 24 Liberator Bomber pilot who flew thirty WW II combat missions in Europe, with the 8th Air Force based in England. After receiving the Air Medal with thirty oak leaf clusters, he was flying his plane back to the US when he lost an engine over the cold waters of the North Atlantic. He made it home, only to find another assignment waiting - orders to go to the Pacific. They were dated August 19, 1945, ineffective when the war with Japan ended on August 14.
But go back just a bit. Bill, proud of his upcoming 90th birthday this December, was born in the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia, in Berkeley Springs, about ninety miles from Washington, D.C. He graduated from George Washington University in D.C. in 1941 and worked for the government, setting up defense plants in many states even before war was declared.
Early on, Bill was associated with a family that owned a 40,000 acre cattle ranch,. As a result, he developed his own, much smaller, ranch in Oregon, but suffered a devastating injury when he was tossed into the air by a horse. The sciatic nerve in his spine was damaged and, hospitalized, for three weeks he couldn’t move. Recovery was slow and for ten years he was in the care of an osteopath who eventually restored his back function through manipulation.
Bill moved into University Village in September of 2007 with Prudence, his wife of 51 years. Pru had added much color to their lives, through her career as the fashion director for Federated Stores and as the West coast editor of Mademoiselle Magazine. Through her contacts they had partied with such luminaries as Richard Nixon and George Burns and Gracie Allen. Here at UV they made many friends before her death several months later.
Bill continues to be a smiling presence, often navigating the campus in his motorized chair. His participation has included working with both Holly Roepke and Jennifer McGhee in completing an autobiographical scrapbook, participating in the Men’s Club and serving on the Safety and Security Committee. You are a good and Noteworthy Neighbor, Bill.