Bill Warmerdam, fruit grower-packer of Hanford, CA, dies at 80

COMPANY PRESS RELEASE — William (Bill) Warmerdam, a fruit grower-packer-shipper who founded Warmerdam Packing in Hanford, Calif., in 1965 with his wife, Audrey, died on January 8.

Warmerdam, 80, was admired as a leader in the fruit industry for continually embracing innovation and new technologies in the field and packing shed. He erected the company’s first packing shed on Grangeville Blvd. in Hanford in 1969, designing and fabricating much of the packing equipment himself. The operation was moved to its Excelsior Ave. location in 1977.

In its early years, Warmerdam Packing primarily grew peaches, plums and nectarines. Today, the company grows and packs plums, kiwis and cherries and is one of the largest cherry growers in the San Joaquin Valley.

Remembrances in Warmerdam’s name may be sent to The Parkinson Alliance, P.O. Box 308, Kingston, NJ 08528 or parkinsonalliance.org; St. Agnes Hospice, 6729 N. Willow Ave., Suite 103, Fresno, Ca. 93710; or St. Vincent de Paul Society, 115 W. 5^th St., Hanford, Ca. 93230.