Mr. William J. "Bill" Alessini (88) passed away in Madera on July 7, 2023. Bill, born on October 16, 1934, was a lifelong Maderan and spent his working years promoting Downtown Madera, where he worked since the age of seven, sweeping up and doing general custodial work at the former Madera Drugs and the family’s Barsotti Bakery.
Bill graduated from Madera Union High School in 1953, where he was a cheerleader. As a teenager, he delivered furniture for Jennings Brothers Furniture, then realized he was spending most of his money on clothing and took a job at Madera’s premiere haberdashery, Duncan and Shied. He had become a partner in that store in just a few years. In the 1970s, with partner Carol Wilkins, opened William Carol Fashions Unlimitied, which at its height consisted of eleven stores throughout the valley. Bill continued to operate William Carol until his retirement a few years ago in downtown Madera.
In 2007 Bill was awarded the Madera Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to the Chamber and the community of Madera. Recently he and his wife Carla were honored as the King and Queen of the Madera Downtown Old Timers Day Parade.
Bill and Carla were charter members of the Madera Golf and Country Club and members of Fort Washington Golf and Country Club in Fresno. He was on the board of directors of Regency Bank, on the committee that founded the Madera Redevelopment Agency, and president of the Madera Downtown Association numerous times. He was involved with projects for Madera Community Hospital, St. Joachim Church, Young Men’s Institute, 20-30 Club, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Elks Lodge, Exchange, and Lions clubs.
He was preceded in death by two sisters, Beverly and Naomi, his mother and father, Evelina Barsotti Alessini and Ezio Alessini, and his grandparents, Domenico and Louisa Barsotti.
He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Carla (Oberti), his son Bryan and his wife Ashley, and his daughter Stephine. Two grandchildren, Lauren and Harrison. One brother Dr. Dan Alessini and his wife, Barbara, of West Los Angeles. Also surviving are numerous extended family members of the Barsotti, Cappelluti and Oberti families.
Visitation will take place at Jay Chapel on July 19, 2023, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
The Rosary recitation will occur at St. Joachim Catholic Church on July 20, 2023, at 9:30 am, with the funeral mass following at 10:00 am. Burial will follow at the Calvary, Mausoleum in Madera. The Entombment at Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum in Madera will be private for family members.
Remembrances in Bill’s memory suggested being made to Hinds Hospice, St. Agnes Hospital Foundation or The Madera Historical Society.