William M. "Bill" Lassleben

William Mack (Bill) Lassleben died in Carlsbad, California on June 28, 2013. He was a nearly lifelong resident of Whittier, where he was a partner in the law firm Bewley, Lassleben and Miller, LLP.



Bill Lassleben was born in Whittier on April 25, 1923, the first of three sons of William Matthew Lassleben and Helen Mackmiller Lassleben. He graduated from Whittier High School in 1940 and after a year at Whittier College, transferred to the University of California, Berkeley. The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined many of his classmates who went to the San Francisco Presidio to enlist in the United States Army and served in the Army Corps of Engineers from 1942 to 1946. He returned to Berkeley to complete his undergraduate degree in 1947, and his law degree in 1950.



Following law school, Lassleben returned to Whittier and joined Bewley, Knoop and Nixon and eventually specialized in estate planning and probate law. He remained with the firm (which evolved into Bewley, Lassleben & Miller) throughout his professional career. He married Elizabeth Caroline Higley, also of Whittier, in 1951. They remained married for 48 years (until her death in 1999) and had three children: W. Mark, Lauren and Brian. Family activities included Boy and Girl Scouts, camping, backpacking, skiing, body surfing, sailing, and travel.



In addition to his law practice, Lassleben was active in the Whittier community, serving as a charter member and secretary of the board of directors of Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital for several decades, a member of the board of trustees of Rio Hondo Community College from 1966 to 1981. He was also a long-time member of the Whittier Lions Club.



In 2002 he married La Verne Barnett of Diamond Bar. They retired to Carlsbad. Prior to her death in 2010, Bill & LaVerne travelled extensively, including visits to family members in Australia and Switzerland.



Survivors include: sons Dr. W. Mark Lassleben (Kristine Pelz) of Oberschwanden, Switzerland, and Brian M. Lassleben (Denise Lavin) of Channel Islands Harbor; daughter Lauren L. Lassleben of Berkeley; granddaughters Julianna Lassleben (Colin Shaff) of Los Angeles, and Ingrid Lassleben of San Francisco; and brother Robert (Ann) of Coarsegold, California.



Services will be held Friday July 5, 2013 at 11:00 A.M. at White Emerson Mortuary Chapel 13304 E. Philadelphia St. Whittier, Ca 90601 with Interment to follow at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, CA.



In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to a favorite charity.