Longtime Malibu resident William “Bill” Androlia died unexpectedly from a heart attack on May 30. He is survived by Linda, his wife of 51 years, and their children: Whitney and her husband Apollo Nestoras, and Adam and his wife Eliza.
Bill was born on Oct. 17, 1944, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Andy and Mildred Androlia during Andy’s deployment there in World War II. After the war, his parents moved the family to California and settled in Mountain View. Bill did his undergraduate work at UC Berkeley, earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from San Jose State University, and later received his law degree from Loyola Marymount. When applying for his master’s degree, his family shared that he received the highest GRE score ever recorded and scored in the highest percentile when taking the LSAT. Bill was also a member of Mensa International.
Bill met his beloved Linda in 1967 and they married on Jan. 28, 1968. After being called up to active duty in the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Vietnam for most of 1970. As a first lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps, Bill was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service. He returned from Vietnam and started law school the very next week. He passed the bar exam in 1973, embarking on a successful career in patent law.
He partnered with fellow patent attorney Henry Koda to form the firm of Koda and Androlia, where they specialized in international and technical patents, representing most of the major Japanese multinational corporations, according to Bill’s family.
In the 1970s, Bill and Linda moved to Malibu to raise their family. Bill served on the board of directors for the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue (MJCS) for more than a decade. He also taught a patent law course for more than 10 years at Pepperdine University in Malibu.
An avid collector of Thomas Edison memorabilia and products, Bill’s world-renowned collection even included one of the original light bulbs invented by the master patent maker.
Despite the demands of his career, his community commitments and avocation, Bill’s family was always his highest priority.
“He made it a point to eat dinner with his family every evening, traveled with Adam to all of his archery competitions and made sure that he never missed any of Whitney’s vocal performances. Every summer, their family tradition was to attend UCLA’s Family Camp together at Bruin Woods,” a family member shared.
Bill’s life suddenly changed direction when he suffered a major concussion while at work. No longer able to practice law, he partnered with Linda in the management of Sunstone Tours & Cruises, her highly successful small ship cruise travel agency. Together, they cruised around the world on almost every small ship cruise itinerary that is offered.
“A brilliant, talented, principled, good natured and lovable gentleman, Bill was a loving and beloved husband and the go-to person for his friends and family—always ready with a warm and welcoming smile and eager to answer whatever questions they had for him,” his family shared. “His brilliance, passion and commitment will be remembered by all who knew him.”
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, June 9, at 2 p.m. at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue (24855 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu). In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to MJCS or Planned Parenthood.