William T. Provence

William Thomas Provence passed away on June 24th, 2020, at the age of 82 in his home in Pasadena, California. Bill was an avid train and auto enthusiast, and a life-long artist, writer, photographer, designer, and entrepreneur.

Born in Clinton, Indiana, on June 16th, 1938, Bill moved to Melvindale, Michigan, when he was 7 years old with his father Ralph, mother Mary “Maxine”, and sister Sonya (Tishler). Bill attended Melvindale High School and served as the school’s sports photographer. While in school, he was an auto accident photographer, and published his first paid article for an automotive magazine at the age of 16. After finishing school, Bill worked as a telephone troubleshooter for Michigan Bell, and distributed products for the Ace Hardware Company before opening a portrait photography studio. Bill married at a young age and had three children. His eldest, son Todd, passed away in 2019. His daughter Terri and son Scott live near their children and grandchildren in Ohio. Bill’s sister Sonya continues to reside in Dearborn, Michigan, with two of her six children.

In January 1976, John DeLorean hired Bill to design, expand, and promote a new chain of Grand Prix of America mini-auto racing parks across Southern California. After moving to California, Bill served on the board of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a favorite charity of his, where he was a successful fund-raiser as executive producer of several St. Jude telethons. In the 1980s, Bill traveled for extended periods to Hong Kong and mainland China with Buyers Club International, and developed residential real estate in northern Michigan, South Carolina, and Desert Hot Springs, California. As owner of his own advertising agency, Bill maintained several advertising contracts with industrial manufacturers. Bill lived in Redondo Beach, Los Angeles, Canyon Country, and for a longer time, in Burbank, before settling in Pasadena with Jean Volckmann, his companion for the last 28 years of his life, and becoming family to Jean’s son, Matthew, his wife, Alison, and their daughters Lily and Taylor.

Bill’s passions included art, photography, writing, design, and anything Disney. A model train and automotive hobbyist with a strong interest in mechanical engineering and design, he was an active member of the East Valley Lines Nscale Model Railroad Club at Griffith Park and the Group 160 NTRACK Club, and an avid NASCAR fan. Bill actively pursued numerous hobbies and new business ventures that aligned with his many interests. In the 1990s, he created Terrain for Trains, a manufacturer of vacuum-formed model train layouts, and later launched an on-line retail hobby and model train business. Over the years, Bill authored many works of fiction, spanning sci-fi, romance, and TV scripts, as well as autobiographical non-fiction. In 2008, he designed and built a prototype electric car and partnered with friends in Michigan to launch the electric car company, Pure Electric Vehicles.

Gregarious, energetic, creative, warm-hearted, and loyal to friends, Bill was eager to help others, learn new things, share in new experiences, and make new acquaintances. Bill held strong on-going convictions about the value of individual liberty and free markets, and often engaged in spirited philosophical debates with friends and family on these topics. He loved animals, especially caring for his pet cats, and observing and photographing wildlife. Bill took frequent trips between LA and nearby coastal California destinations, and relished opportunities to embark on longer scenic Amtrak routes such as the Southwest Chief, Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Lakeshore Limited, and the Coast Starlight. Bill never tired of traveling by train.

Bill had asked that his ashes be scattered at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in Bill’s memory to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA, the Cardiac Rehab Gym at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, CA, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.