William “Bill” Henry Chastain was born in Great Bend, Kansas March 18, 1941. He peacefully passed away with family at his side on June 30, 2020 at the age of 79.

Bill’s early years were spent at Cutten Elementary School, in 4-H, and in Boy Scouts, where he earned the title of Eagle Scout. He attended Humboldt State University for two years. After two years of college he and his best friend Lou Malone took a journey to Guerneville, where they worked and had the time of their lives.

Unfortunately, due to taking a break from college Bill was then drafted into the Army. He was fortunate enough not to have to fight in Vietnam, but instead spent most of his time in the Army as a military policeman in Germany.

After serving his time in the military, he returned to the United States, where he started a career in television at KVIQ. In 1971, he married the love of his life, Penelope Horel, and they began a life long journey together. He then moved on to a career in home improvement. In 1976, he opened his dream store, Paint ‘n’ Place. The store became a fixture of home improvement in Eureka until in 1984, when it burned to the ground in a disastrous fire. Bill’s true colors came out when he received the insurance money for the store and instead of putting it towards his losses, he decided to compensate the people who had stored their personal belongings at the store.

Because he was unable to reopen his store, he became the general manager at Shafer’s Ace Hardware. From there, he became general manager of Myrtle Town Lumber, and then co-owner of Carpet Express. Bill returned to Myrtle Town Lumber to finish his career and retired at the age of 70. At that time, he and his beloved wife Penny retired to Willow Creek, and resided there for 10 years until returning to Eureka in January of this year.

Bill was loved by many. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Penny, his three children Bernard Chastain, Amy Chastain, and Candy Hogan. His seven grandchildren Cade Chastain, Ryan Chastain, Mehgan Burton, Aidan Burton, Benjamin Chastain, Cora Hogan, and Carson Hogan. He was preceded in death by his parents Wayne and Gracia Chastain and his two sisters Sandra Rigby and Paulette Herman.

Bill touched the lives of so many people. He was a father figure to more people than he could possibly ever know. He was the “rock” of the family. He was an artist, a musician, a gardener, a friend, and so much more.

We will celebrate the life of Bill on Saturday, July 11, at our home at 930 F St. in Eureka on the front lawn. Due to COVID-19, we will have an “open house” type celebration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. We ask that all social distancing rules, including wearing a mask, be observed. We ask that if you would like to write down memories of Bill to be contributed to a book of memories that you bring it at this time. His paintings will be on the lawn and we ask that you take one in his memory.

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