August 31,1943 – October 18, 2015
William (Bill) David Stallone was born Aug. 31, 1943, in Berkeley. He was delivered by his father Jasper, a general practitioner, with the help of forceps to cut short a long labor. (His mother joked that she was never again the same.)
He graduated from UC Berkeley and UCSF Medical School. In his last year of medical school, he fell in love with and married his fellow classmate Laura Hagestad. They did their internship together at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center and then both did residencies in ob-gyn, he at UCLA and she at Kaiser in Hollywood, finishing in 1973.
He was drafted into the Navy from 1973 to 1975, providing care to servicemen’s wives. In 1975, he joined his wife in private practice, first in Lafayette, Calif., and then Laguna Beach.
The couple loved to come to Laguna Beach starting in 1970 as day-trippers from Los Angeles and then vacationers from Lafayette.
They moved here in 1981, practicing at South Coast Hospital and raising two children in the local schools. Stallone delivered many Laguna Beach babies during that time.
They moved in 1994 to provide caregiving for Bill’s aging parents. In 1995, he joined Golden Valley Health Center in Modesto, a multi-specialty group caring for low-income women and families. Laura also joined Golden Valley in 2002, and they worked together again until retirement in 2013.
Always wanting come back to Laguna, they purchased a house on Catalina Street in 2001 and lived here part-time until 2013.
Just after his retirement in June 2013, Bill was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer and underwent both radical surgery and prolonged, intensive chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the cancer returned one year after treatment.
All during this difficult time, he went to the gym daily (displaying great courage), finally stopping in June 2015 because of radiation treatments and severe hip pain. He entered hospice care in August. He passed away Oct. 18, 2015, at home, surrounded by his family and friends.
He is survived by his wife, Laura; daughter Eva and son-in-law Aeon; son David and daughter-in-law, Tina; and four grandchildren, Jasper, Samantha, Nora and Leo.
He was very grateful for hospice and his skilled, compassionate caregivers.
Stallone’s hobbies included hunting duck and deer with his brother, Bob, and son, David and assisted by his Labrador retriever, ChaCha. He was an avid reader and gym regular. He was always his children’s and grandchildren’s biggest fan and was a devoted and supportive husband.
Bill and Laura have spent many wonderful hours at the Laguna Health Club, dining at many local restaurants and walking, swimming and body-surfing at their beloved Main Beach.
Stallone was extremely intelligent, happy, loving, kind, warm, inviting, and witty, with great strength of character and spirit. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, colleagues and patients.
A celebration of his life will be held at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church on Nov. 14 at 2 p.m., 428 Park Ave., Laguna Beach 92651.
Parking is available in St. Mary’s parking lot, the school district parking lot on Blumont Avenue, and the public parking structure at Park and Glenneyre Streets.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (949) 494-3542 [email protected] or MenAlive Gay Men’s Chorus at MenAlivechorus.org
