Born May 5, 1940, in Ironton, Ohio to Wayne McLauren Wickline and Johanna Gertrude Wickline, William Jack Wickline (Bill) moved with his family to Los Angeles, California as a small child.  He graduated from George Washington High School in 1958, and went on to complete his Doctor of Optometry at the L.A. School of Optometry, which at the time was located on the campus of the University of Southern California.

In 1961 Bill married Patricia Blough (Patti).  Patti will tell you that Bill never planned on being anything other than an optometrist.  After graduating from school, he realized his vision by opening his first optometric office in downtown Los Angeles in the same building as his father’s optical business.  He later moved his office to Inglewood, California, before relocating his family and his practice to Palos Verdes, California, in 1972.  Nine years later, Bill and Patti sought out greener pastures and moved to Sequim, Washington, where he opened the optometry practice he ran for 35 years until his death.

In 1985 Bill and Patti moved their household to Port Townsend where they found a way to combine Bill’s handyman skills and limitless patience with Patti’s flair for entertaining and design by purchasing Lizzie’s Bed & Breakfast.  Together, they ran the B&B in the historic Grant House for fifteen years while Bill commuted to Sequim to practice optometry five days a week.  You could always recognize Bill’s car on the road due to his unique “CME2C” license plate.  Bill was actively involved in the local community; he served on the board of directors of The Rose Theater since 2000 and was a big supporter of the Centrum organization.  Bill also was generous with his time, volunteering and traveling with Habitat for Humanity.

Bill was a gentle and soft-spoken man, but he had an impish and very dry sense of humor.  He had nicknames for everyone, most of which made little sense to anyone other than Bill.  He didn’t cook a lot, but he did have a few things he would make as special treats for his family.  The family favorite was his mother’s pâté recipe that he made every Christmas, which Bill thought went quite well with his favorite beer, PT Brewing Company’s Hop Diggidy IPA.

Bill was a tremendous handyman and skilled woodworker who was always fixing things around the house, whether at his house in Port Townsend or on one of his frequent trips to visit his three children and five grandchildren.  He literally traveled with his own tools.  Bill loved spending endless hours in the workshop he outfitted in his garage designing and crafting unique woodworking creations.  At holiday gatherings, you could count on finding Bill sitting quietly on the couch, ear-buds firmly planted in his ears, watching How-To videos on his computer as he plotted his next project.  He built tables and chairs; he turned bowls and vases; he made cabinetry and fireplace mantels with inlaid carvings; he made unique boxes and storage containers; he fashioned his own cane out of a pool cue.  He even built an accurate one-quarter-scale model replica of Lizzie’s as a doghouse for what clearly was a very well-to-do German Shepherd (the doghouse, but, sadly, not the dog, can still be seen today).  Many of these projects required custom, hand-made jigs that Bill designed and fabricated with as much care as the pieces themselves.  Almost all of the pieces over which Bill labored were generously given away to friends and family.

Bill was an avid traveler, as Patti was always dragging him off to one corner or the other of the world.  Some of their more memorable trips include visits to the Caribbean, Ireland, England, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Egypt, Cape Horn, Thailand, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands and, just months ago, Chile and Argentina.

Bill is survived by his wife of 54 years, Patti; his three children Tracey Appleton, Crystal Kolke and Brent Wickline; his sister Janice Hygh; his identical twin brother Kurt Wickline; son-in-laws Jon Appleton and Ray Kolke; grandchildren Kelsey and Jake Appleton, and Russell, Spencer and Sheila Kolke; numerous cousins, nephews, nieces and other loving relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Lila.