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HEBENSTREIT -- William Benton (Bill) Hebenstreit, 94, passed away on Friday, April 10, 2009 after a short illness. Bill was born on June 26, 1914 in St. Louis, MO to William Henry and Mae (Murphy) Hebenstreit. Raised in Illinois, he attended the University of Chicago for three years until he was unable to continue due to The Depression. After working on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs for four years, he was able to return to school at the California Institute of Technology where he completed his degree in Applied Physics. While at Caltech he met his future wife, Margarita Wallace, on a blind date arranged by relatives. They were wed in December of 1942 and were married for nearly sixty years until Margarita's death in November of 2002. Bill had a long and varied career in engineering and business. During World War II he worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York City, moving to Hughes Aircraft Company in California in 1947. He later left Hughes to be a part of a new company called the Ramo Wooldrige Corporation which ultimately became part of TRW. In the 1960's he left TRW to start his own business before finally retiring in 1990. Besides his family, the great joy of his life was sailing, and he spent many happy days off the coast of southern California both leisure sailing and ocean racing. Bill is survived by his and Margarita's two children, Christina Sierk and husband, Arnold of Los Alamos, NM and Jim Hebenstreit and wife, Linda of Manhattan Beach, CA; three grandchildren, Michael Sierk and wife, Michelle of Greensburg, PA, Brian Steele-Sierk and wife, Dana of Lake Stevens, WA, and Kimberly Sierk of Albuquerque, NM; and four great-grandchildren, Emma Steele-Sierk, Sam Steele-Sierk, Andrew Sierk and Daniel Sierk. He also leaves his sister, Mary Ann Sporl and husband, Robert of San Diego, CA; daughter-in-law Linda Hebenstreit's two sons, Andrew and Jeffrey Peterson; and several nieces and nephews. Scattering of cremated remains will be held Saturday, April 18, 2009, 10:30 a.m., at Sunset Memorial Park, 924 Menaul Blvd. NE. Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be made to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Please visit our online guestbook for Bill at RememberTheirStory.com French 1111 University Blvd. NE (505) 843-6333
        Published on: Thu April 16, 2009