Sacramento Bee Logo

Obituary: William ‘Bill’ Whiteneck, 77, was influential state education official | The Sacramento Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • SacBee Rewards
    • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube
    • News in Education (NIE)
  • Newsletters

    • Sacramento Region
    • Arena
    • City Beat
    • Crime
    • Local Govt Salary Database
    • The Homeless
    • Marcos Bretón
    • Transportation
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health & Medicine
    • Traffic Conditions
    • Weather
    • Communities
    • Elk Grove
    • Folsom/El Dorado
    • Roseville/Placer
    • Yolo
    • Sports
    • Kings
    • NBA News
    • 49ers
    • Giants
    • Oakland A's
    • High School Sports
    • Joe Davidson
    • More Sports
    • Raiders
    • NFL News
    • MLB News
    • River Cats
    • Soccer
    • Colleges
    • Golf
    • Autos Racing
    • Politics
    • Capitol Alert
    • State Workers
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Local Elections
    • PoliGRAPH
    • State Worker Salary Database
    • Legislative Gifts
    • Local Elections
    • California Elections
    • Election Endorsements
    • Election 2018
    • Voter Guide
    • Investigations
    • Data Tracker
    • Public Eye
    • Afghan Refugees
    • Nursing Homes
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Election Endorsements
    • Viewpoints
    • Influencers Opinion
    • California Forum
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Submit a Letter
    • Jack Ohman
    • Editorial Board
    • Entertainment & Life
    • Arts & Theater
    • Books
    • Home & Garden
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Outdoors
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Horoscopes
    • Comics
    • Puzzles
    • TV Listings
    • Sacbee Rewards
    • Food & Drink
    • Restaurants News & Reviews
    • Restaurant Directory
    • Cooking & Recipes
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Appetizers Blog
    • California
    • Big Valley
    • Marijuana
    • Wildfires
    • Water & Drought
    • Lottery
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Market Summary
    • Cathie Anderson
    • Nation & World
    • National
    • World
    • Technology
    • Family
    • Celebrities
    • TV news
    • Weird News
    • Video Break
    • News Obituaries
    • Death Notices
    • FAQ
    • ObitMessenger
    • In Memoriam

    • The Sacramento Bee Store
    • Golf Card
    • Farm to Fork Dining Card
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Legal Notices
  • Place an Ad
  • Advertise
  • Mobile & Apps

Local Obituaries

Obituary: William ‘Bill’ Whiteneck, 77, was influential state education official

By Robert D. Dávila - bdavila@sacbee.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

November 04, 2013 09:13 PM

William “Bill” Whiteneck, a Sacramento high school teacher and coach who served students statewide as a California education official and Capitol consultant, died Oct. 26 of Parkinson’s disease, his family said. He was 77.

A Sacramento native, Mr. Whiteneck began teaching history and coaching in the 1960s at C.K. McClatchy High School. He left after 10 years to be an administrator for the Sacramento City Unified School District and joined the California Department of Education in 1971. He rose quickly, overseeing early childhood education and testifying before the Legislature on budget issues to become a top deputy to state Superintendent Wilson C. Riles.

In 1983, Mr. Whiteneck went to work at the Capitol as chief consultant to the state Senate Education Committee. He was instrumental in the passage and implementation of the Hart-Hughes Educational Reform Act, which augmented school funding in the wake of tax-cutting Proposition 13 and provided reforms for teaching training and assessment.

Besides a grasp of complex school financing issues, Mr. Whiteneck brought a basic understanding of classroom needs to meetings with high-powered lawyers, academics and public-policy experts involved in drafting legislation, former state lawmaker Gary Hart said.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

“What really made Bill such a valuable asset in those negotiation in the Capitol was he came out of a public school experience as a student and a teacher,” Hart said. “He had a common sense and a grounding in reality that served him and served me as chairman of the Education Committee in a special way.”

The son of a plumber and homemaker, William D. Whiteneck Jr. was born Oct. 9, 1936, and raised in the Hollywood Park neighborhood. He played baseball and football and graduated in 1954 from McClatchy High, where he returned as a coach in those sports and later was inducted into the school Hall of Fame. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, Sacramento.

CSU Sacramento honored his contributions to public education with a distinguished service award in 1988. He retired from state service in the 1990s and worked as a private consultant on education issues.

He married JoAnn Magnetti in 1957 and had three children. He traveled widely with his wife in Europe and enjoyed cheering for his grandchildren at sports, school and music events. An avid reader, he stocked his home library with histories and biographies.

Mr. Whiteneck was a bocce enthusiast who helped organize the Fairfield Bocce Association and served as president. Assisted by his father, he built his own home – including a bocce court – in 1982 on 5 acres in Rescue.

“He loved a good building project,” said his daughter Wendy Carmickle. “He was always helping us kids with our new homes or putting in yards.”

Mr. Whiteneck was predeceased by his wife in 2009. In addition to Carmickle, he is survived by his son Daniel; his daughter Karen Slabaugh; his brother David; and five grandchildren.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Rockville Cemetery, 4219 Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield. Donations may be made to the American Parkinson Disease Association or to the California State University Wilson C. Riles scholarship fund.

  Comments  

Videos

Remembering Newt Wallace, publisher and editor of Winters Express newspaper

A glance at the life of Ali Youssefi, dynamic Sacramento developer

View More Video

Trending Stories

Will ‘basic income’ become the California norm? Stockton starts $500 no-strings payments

February 15, 2019 03:30 AM

Gavin Newsom says California plans to sue Donald Trump over national emergency declaration

February 15, 2019 10:32 AM

El Niño officially arrives: Rising rivers bring flood warnings to Sacramento, Yolo

February 14, 2019 12:21 PM

Interstate 80 closed in both directions amid whiteout conditions and collisions

February 14, 2019 07:44 PM

Does this school trip cross line between church and state? Some Sacramento parents say yes

February 14, 2019 03:30 AM

Read Next

Pioneering ‘judge of the people’ Alice Lytle dead at 79

Local Obituaries

Pioneering ‘judge of the people’ Alice Lytle dead at 79

By Darrell Smith

    ORDER REPRINT →

January 06, 2019 12:00 AM

Alice A. Lytle was California’s first African-American woman Superior Court judge and, in 1982, the first black female jurist appointed to the Sacramento bench. Lytle died Dec. 21, 2018, after a brief illness.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LOCAL OBITUARIES

Bernard Marks, the Holocaust survivor who challenged Trump’s immigration tactics, dies at 89

Local Obituaries

Bernard Marks, the Holocaust survivor who challenged Trump’s immigration tactics, dies at 89

December 29, 2018 06:07 PM
Eric Dahlin, local ceramics artist popular for whimsical animal sculptures, dies at 72

Local Obituaries

Eric Dahlin, local ceramics artist popular for whimsical animal sculptures, dies at 72

December 19, 2018 01:19 PM
Aubry Stone, California champion of black-owned businesses, dies at 74

Local Obituaries

Aubry Stone, California champion of black-owned businesses, dies at 74

December 01, 2018 05:11 PM
Sacramento-born artist Mel Ramos, famous for pop art of superheroes and women, dies at 83

Local Obituaries

Sacramento-born artist Mel Ramos, famous for pop art of superheroes and women, dies at 83

October 21, 2018 03:00 AM
‘Renaissance man’ Burnett Miller, former Sacramento mayor and community icon, dies at 95

Local Obituaries

‘Renaissance man’ Burnett Miller, former Sacramento mayor and community icon, dies at 95

October 15, 2018 12:04 PM
He ‘kept the Democratic cats herded:’ Former California legislator Tom Hannigan dies

Capitol Alert

He ‘kept the Democratic cats herded:’ Former California legislator Tom Hannigan dies

October 11, 2018 02:21 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Sacramento Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Place a Classified Ad
  • Place a Legal Notice
  • Place a Digital Ad
  • Place a Newspaper Ad
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Corrections Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story