William “Bill” C. Farnham, Jr.,85, of Chico, peacefully passed into the presence of his LORD on Tuesday, August 30, 2016. He was born November 10, 1930 to William C. Farnham, Sr. and Edna T. Peterson Farnham in Stockton, CA. On May 24, 1951 Bill married Lorraine Madeline Winton.

In January 1948, Bill graduated from San Leandro High School. From 1948 to 1951 he attended Oregon State University, where he played football on a full ride scholarship.

At an early age, Bill began working at Peterson Tractor in San Leandro. He  worked odd jobs from sweeping floors to cleaning windows.  Following college, he was invited to attend the 49er football training camp. Instead, he elected to begin working fulltime as a mechanic at Peterson Tractor in San Leandro. After a few years he was promoted to the sales department.

In November 1963, Bill moved his family to Chico. He felt led to co-found Neighborhood Church with Ken Backlund, hosting the early services in his home. He transferred to the Chico branch of Peterson Tractor, where he was promoted to Service Manager. Bill spent many years working on the equipment that built Oroville Dam.

In 1998, Bill retired after a 25-year partnership with Forbes and Farnham Insurance. He remained active at Neighborhood Church for many years, serving on the board as the Treasurer, and singing in the choir.  In his later years, Bill was active at Chico Bible Fellowship.

His hobbies included hunting, fishing, snow and water skiing, golf, leather tooling, stain glassing, fixing cars, renovating his RV bus, traveling, singing, and mentoring people.

Bill is survived by his wife, Lorraine Farnham; sister and brother-in-law, Sonja and Marv Adams; three daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and Mike Menzie, Patricia and Larry Stephenson, and Terri and Bruce Douglas; 10 grandchildren, Sommer Hauer, Rebecca Stephenson, Amber Merritt, Kimberlee Tenorio, Jaclyn Wassermann, Crystal Manalu, Ian Kirchner, Mike Menzie, Cameron Douglas and Robert Douglas; and 15 great-grandchildren, Maddison, Spencer, Lexxi, Anaiya, Alden, Emerson, Avery, Grayson, Sharon, Tabitha, Nathan, Ovidah, Joab, Chloe, and Dillon.

Bill is preceded in death by his parents, William and Edna Farnham; and sister, Joyce Patrick.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in the dome at Neighborhood Church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send a contribution to Chico Bible Fellowship, 1505 Arbutus Avenue, Chico, CA 95926, for their sound system.