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William J. Mead (Edward William Barnett), who died on March 7, 2008, was born August 29, 1927 in Des Moines, Iowa to Charles W. and Caroline Barnett.
Orphaned as a child, he was adopted by Stanley and Freda Mead of Ida Grove, Iowa. His adoptive parents were newspaper publishers who gave him a great many opportunities, including skills he later used as co-publisher of the Tehachapi News from 1977 until 1998.
He married Elizabeth S. (Betty) Fleischmann, of San Luis Obispo, on December 10, 1954 in Carmel. Throughout their lives together she was his business partner as well as his marital partner.
He was a member for nine years in the U.S. Naval Reserve and served on active duty twice, near the end of World War II and during the Korean War. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 1956 with a degree in agricultural journalism.
Before his association with the Tehachapi News he spent many years working in the water industry with the Water...
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