On a frosty evening — February 1 , 1916 — an Italian immigrant farmer by the name of Ralph Filice harnessed his horse and buggy and rode five miles from Paradise Valley into Morgan Hill to fetch the area ’ s only doctor . Ralph ’ s wife Raffaella was in labor with their third child . The baby was not due for another seven weeks , so Ralph was worried .

Dr . Newbold rushed to Raffaella ’ s side while her husband paced the floor . At 8:03 pm , Ralph heared the lusty cry of his new son , William Francis Filice .

When William was three years old , Ralph and his brothers went looking for new a business and found a small patch of land filled with oak trees in Morgan Hill . They cleared the trees sold the wood to neighboring farmers and used the money they made to plant a vineyard — the Filice Brothers Winery . When prohibition came along in the 1920s , however , they were forced to sell their property .

By the time William was six years old , the Filice family had settled in Gilroy . He , and his brother Ernest and sister , Marian attended school five miles away . They had not yet learned the English language .

Ralph had begun to farm prunes from their orchard in Gilroy and things were looking up for the Filice Family . Unfortunately , things weren ’ t so healthy for William ( nicknamed Bill ) when he contracted a baffling and serious disease ( known today as Osteomyelitis ) at 10 years old . He underwent a series of painful and often experimental treatments . It took twenty years of battling the disease before Bill would be considered well . At age 30 , he purchased his first car , a 98 Oldsmobile and started his career .

While working as a distributor for General Petroleum ( which later became Mobile Oil ), Bill meet Ellen Florence Sullivan , an editor for the Gilroy Dispatch . It was love at first sight and the two were married on February 20 , 1954 . Within five years , Bill and Ellen had two children , Kathleen and Patrick . They purchased a new home ; the same home that Bill lives in today .

Bill ’ s second career was in real estate . As a broker , he joined Guido Sargenti and started Filice Real Estate . He joined the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce in 1948 ; thus beginning his long history of community involvement . He served as its president in 1967 . He joined the Gilroy Rotary Club in 1959 and has been a member for 56 years .

Bill is also a long-standing member of the Gilroy Elks brotherhood , which includes a seven-year term as treasurer . He has always maintained an interest and a willingness to help Gilroy ’ s young and upcoming men and women in business . Even after the loss of his beloved wife , Ellen in 1995 , Bill stayed active in the community until he retired at the age of 90 .

Bill celebrated his 100th birthday on Monday , February 1 , 2016 at the Gilroy Lodge on the Hill , surrounded by the “ who ’ s who ” in Gilroy … old friends and his loving family . The party was hosted by his long-time friend , Don and Karen Christopher and the Filice Family .

For those whose lives he has touched and those who love him , Bill ( endearingly called Uncle Bill ) is truly a Gilroy treasure .

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