William Horace “Bill” DeNisi

Early Life:

William Horace DeNisi was born on November 15, 1943 in Santa Monica, California to Victor Charles DeNisi & Mary Teresa Bushnell (DeNisi), the 3rd of 4 sons; Richard DeNisi (surviving), Johnny DeNisi (surviving) & Steve DeNisi (surviving). He would always be just “Bill” or “Billy” to his family, friends and co-workers though. Bill graduated from Montebello High School on 6/15/1961.

Military Service:

On 7/18/1961 Bill joined the United States Army. Bill spent 3 years in the US Army and trained as an “Intercept Equipment Repairman” at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Bill would spend 1 year and 26 days of his 3 year enlistment deployed overseas in Korea. Bill was honorably discharged as a SP4 (E4) “Specialist Class 4” on 7/17/1967.

1st Marriage:

While stationed at Fort Devens just 49 miles from Boston, Bill met Jean Frances Mercandante (surviving). They were married from 1964 to 1978 and had 2 children: Victoria Jean DeNisi-Hanson (surviving) and Tracy Jeanne DeNisi (surviving).

California Move:

In January 1965, Bill and family temporarily moved in with family in Montebello, California, and then into a small apartment in Garden Grove, California while attending the police academy. In 1967, Bill would move again, this time to a home in nearby Fountain Valley, California. In 1969, Bill finally bought his 1st home in Santa Ana, California and lived there until 1978.

2nd Marriage:

On 2/24/79, Bill married Lynne Marie Sells and bought a home in Lake Elsinore, California. Bill’s immediate family grew much larger after he re-married. Lynne’s young children would grow up under Bill’s love and support calling him simply “Poppa”. These children are: Cynthia Black (survivor), Phillip Sells (survivor) and Scott Sells (survivor). Bill would upgrade his Lake Elsinore homesteads two more times over the next 30 years, each time reaching higher and higher up the canyon. Bill finally found his Shangri-La in a vacant lot located at the far end of the last street up the canyon ending in a wilderness gate. There, Bill would build his last forever home. Finally, nothing would separate Bill from the wonders of nature. That feeling of living in the country, yet still close to work was Bill’s joy. Bill lived in Lake Elsinore until he was widowed on 9/20/24.

Garden Grove Police Department:

On 8/26/64, Garden Grove PD recruited Bill as an academy trainee for class #31 of the old Orange County Peace officer’s Academy and he graduated on 10/8/1965. Bill worked for Garden Grove PD as a Police Officer until 7/1/1967.

Fountain Valley Police Department:

On 7/1/1967, Bill, along with the current Garden Grove PD police chief; Charlie Michaelis, left Garden Grove PD to help form the fledgling recently incorporated Fountain Valley Police Department. In fact, Bill’s Fountain Valley PD badge number was #103 designating Bill as the 3rd FVPD employee hired. After Bill was promoted to the rank of "Captain", he was often called “Captain Bill” by many who worked with him. During his career, Bill would also attend and graduate from the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia. Bill was even temporarily promoted to Interim Police Chief during his time as Captain and ran all of Fountain Valley PD for a while.

Retirement:

On 12/19/96, after 35 years in law enforcement, Bill retired from Fountain Valley PD.

Business:

In 1989, Bill started a residential alarm business in the Lake Elsinore area called “Lakeside Alarm”. After 12 years, Bill sold his alarm business to the ADT Security corp. in 1991.

Author:

In the years following retirement, Bill became a self-published author by penning two fictional novels; “Trinity” (2004) and “Choking Sam” (2006). These acclaimed novels are still available. After “Trinity” was published, Bill became a regular guest on Conservative Talk Radio often speaking on the likelihood of nuclear terrorism.

Amateur Radio Operations:

One of Bill’s many interests was amateur radio. He built many radio repeater systems to service the Lake Elsinore area. Bill’s ability to provide emergency radio communication to the Lake Elsinore area made him a hero to many. A few of Bill’s fellow Fountain Valley PD officers, Kevin and Chris, also helped setup some of Bill's repeater systems.

Scuba Diving:

Probably Bill's greatest passion was Scuba diving and he shared a dive boat named “Early Bird” with his longtime friends, Mike and Warner. The boat was often moored in Dana Point was his pride and joy. Bill would spend many a Lobster adventure on the Early Bird.

William Horace “Bill” DeNisi passed into eternity on 5/3/2025 at the age of 81.