William E. Hollister; Retired DWP Superintendent
William E. Hollister, former district superintendent of the Department of Water and Power, has died at his Sepulveda home. He was 63.
Hollister died Monday of heart failure, following years of heart problems, said his wife, Lois Ellen Hollister.
He was born Nov. 6, 1926, in Sacramento and came to Los Angeles as a child. With World War II under way, Hollister enlisted in the Navy during his senior year at North Hollywood High School. He finished his secondary education after being discharged from the military in 1947.
In 1948, he became an apprentice with the DWP and worked as a lineman and a foreman before becoming district superintendent in Van Nuys in the mid-1970s. He supervised 150 workers at the time of his retirement in 1979.
Hollister was a 40-year member of the Zenith-Mt. Olive Masonic Lodge in Van Nuys and served as master of the Zenith Masonic Lodge in 1972. He was also president of the Sepulveda Little League from 1966 to 1968.
He is survived by his wife of 41 years; a son, Mark Allen Hollister of Van Nuys; daughters, Mary Ellen Hollister of Canoga Park and Pamela Lee Spurrier of Newbury Park; and five grandchildren.
A service is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Pierce Brothers Meyer-Mitchell Mortuary, 5940 Van Nuys Blvd., in Van Nuys. Burial will be private. Donations can be made in Hollister’s name to the American Heart Assn., Northwestern Division.
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