Braford "Bill" Bishop Badland

December 16, 1922 - November 10, 2019

Barford "Bill" Badland of Morro Bay, California, passed away November 10th, 2019 at the home of his family in Tallahassee, Florida. He was five weeks shy of turning 97. Bill, a thirty-four-year resident of Morro Bay, was a regular at the Art in the Park events and weekly Famers Market where he loved to display and sell his beautiful turned-wood products. Even at 96 Bill could be seen daily in his open garage crafting beautiful wood bowls and pepper mills on the lathe. With the help of dear friends and neighbors, Bill set up his table of wares on Main Street every Saturday afternoon where he enjoyed the interaction with customers and fellow vendors as much as he enjoyed selling a hand-turned coffee grinder. Bill was born in 1922 in what is now Rosemead, CA; eight miles east of downtown Los Angeles. After serving in the Navy stationed in Guam during WWII, he moved to Catalina Island where he met the love of his life, Jan. Bill spent the next few years commuting from Catalina Island to Tempe, Arizona to receive his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Arts from ASU. Jan and Bill moved to the Mojave Desert sixty miles north of Los Angeles where they both taught for the Lancaster School District for the next thirty-four years. In his over three decades of teaching woodshop at Antelope Valley High School, "Mr. Badland" earned the respect and admiration of the faculty and students. During his time in Lancaster, Bill became a prolific ceramicist; building a gas kiln in his backyard and selling his wheel-thrown pottery at art shows all over the State. Quick to smile and a lover of telling stories, Bill will be greatly missed by friends and family. Bill is survived by his son Charles, daughter-in-law Patricia, and grandson Beckett. A celebration of life will be held at a later date in California where Mr. Badland lived his life, to be honored there by his family and friends. The information regarding the service will be updated here when the arrangements are finalized. The Badland Family is being assisted by Skip Young, and cared for by Jackie Fulford.