A Lifetime, A Legacy: William "Bill" Hernandez
William "Bill" Hernandez
The late William Hernandez, a brilliant man with notable worldly success, is most remembered for his selfless open-heartedness. The Pittsburgh and Avalon resident died at age 74 in January 2023. Since then, an unfamiliar stillness lingers in the family home on 64th Street.
“Every happy memory has Dad front and center,” says the youngest of his three daughters, Aimee. “Dad didn’t want us to miss a thing even when he was working insanely long hours. His achievement of being a present father and successful businessperson is not one attained without great devotion.”
“My father is the wisest person I have ever met, and I’m privileged to have learned from him and loved him,” middle daughter Natalie Hernandez DePalma says.
Oldest daughter Lisa recalls how “Dad had a story for every occasion.” That’s how he connected with people from all walks of life and of all ages, she explains. Plus, “Dad enjoyed himself immensely, no matter how meager or mundane the surroundings. My dad laughed with his whole body. He felt joy thoroughly and frequently.”
His widow concurs. “Bill enjoyed every minute of his life,” says Linda Varrenti Hernandez. “All of the island [Seven Mile] gave him so much joy.”
Mr. Hernandez’s life began in the Brookline neighborhood of Pittsburgh where he was born to immigrant parents, Michael and Selma Hernandez. Michael Hernandez came to the United States from Mexico; Selma Hernandez emigrated from Argentina.
Mr. Hernandez’s father served as a U.S. Merchant Marine, where he learned to cook. This eventually led to his job as a chef at the Duquesne Club, a historic, private club in Pittsburgh. When his son Bill became a member of the Duquesne Club as an adult, it was a source of quiet pride for her grandfather, recollects Lisa Hernandez.
Young Bill Hernandez played basketball at the local park and attended Ligonier Camp, an interdenominational ministry of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh just outside Ligonier with childhood pals who remained lifelong friends. He first entered the workforce at Charleson’s Drug Store, where he worked at the soda fountain or made deliveries.
After excelling academically and graduating from Pittsburgh’s South Hills High School, Mr. Hernandez earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA at the Harvard School of Business.
Mr. Hernandez began his career in the finance department of the Ford Motor Company. He next worked for Borg-Warner Chemicals in West Virginia. As he climbed the ladder into positions of finance leadership at Borg-Warner, the Hernandez family moved with him to Chicago, then Detroit, and then back to Chicago. Mr. Hernandez and family returned to Pittsburgh when he accepted a position as corporate controller at PPG Industries in 1990.
Over the years, Mr. Hernandez served as a corporate board member for the Northrop Grumman, USG, Kodak, Pentair, Blackbox and Albemarle corporations. He also served on the boards of nonprofit organizations including the Three Rivers Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, and the Ligonier Camp and Conference Center, where he was once a young camper.
Mr. Hernandez was recognized as “Best CFO” in the Chemical Industry by Institutional Investor Magazine four times. Chemical Week Magazine also named him “CFO of the Year.”
But what about the woman behind this accomplished man? After ages as a homemaker, Linda Varrenti Hernandez returned to law school and practices law today in Pittsburgh. She specializes in litigation defense for school districts and municipalities and insurers.
Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez met when his car, complete with buddies, broke down one day and Linda Varrenti and her girlfriends stopped to give them a lift, says daughter Lisa. After Lisa and her sisters learned how their parents met, their mom made it clear to the girls that, despite its happy outcome, they were never, ever to give strangers a ride, she adds.
Bill and Linda Hernandez were married for 50 years in 2022. Their daughters and families all celebrated that happy occasion with their parents during a family trip to Scotland.
Mr. Hernandez’ parents discovered the town of Avalon. He and his family first joined them in renting houses on Seven Mile Beach in the late 1980s. The family lived in Chicago at the time.
“We drove to Avalon from wherever we lived,” Linda Varrenti Hernandez says. “In Chicago, they thought we were crazy.”
After renting houses on the island for decades, the couple decided that it was time to build a home in Avalon in 2011. Five years later, they purchased the next-door neighbor’s house to comfortably accommodate their family.
The Pittsburgh native spent time in Avalon from May through September as much as was possible, flying via private plane into the Cape May Airport. Upon arrival, “Bill’s big thing was getting the bikes ready,” his son-in-law Mark McClinchie says. “He always bought the beach tags and made sure the pool was open, too.”
While in town, Mr. Hernandez would be the first one up with coffee made for the house. His reading material, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Wall Street Journal, his Bible, and the Seven Mile Times, would be in his hands or nearby in the kitchen area. Later, he might be found on the beach enjoying time with his eight grandchildren and three step-grandchildren, or sitting in the surf reading paperbacks like the Tom McKenna private-eye series by John Truman Wolfe or thrillers by Jack Reacher or Lee Child.
Back at the house, the husband, father, grandfather, CFO, and former Charleson’s Drug Store soda fountain clerk whipped up root beer floats for anybody who wished one.
At some point late in day or night, Mr. Henandez would pour himself a glass of Scotch.
Before his knees wore out, Mr. Hernandez went for many a run on the island. Next, he took up biking, pedaling for 20-mile rides, sometimes with a buddy. “My father lived life to the fullest,” Lisa Hernandez says. “Whatever he did, he did it 1,000 percent!”
Since Mr. Hernandez was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, while in Avalon, he attended Wells Memorial Presbyterian Church. The family remains grateful to Wells Memorial for a service honoring Mr. Hernandez held there last July.
The gentleman from Pittsburgh also had a soft spot in his heart for Avalon’s Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children, his family members note. “Watching the Helen Diller children [on the beach] broke Bill’s heart. He had tears in his eyes,” Linda Varrenti Hernandez says. “The look on the children’s faces when they went into the water resonated with him.” That’s why they supported the Diller Vacation Home in the past, included it among charities for memorial donations in Mr. Hernandez’s name, and will continue to support it, she adds.
Their father lived by one of Luke’s lines in the Bible, “to whom much is given, much is required,” both Lisa and Aimee Hernandez note. “His unshakable faith and love of God made his generosity seem like a foregone conclusion,” Amiee says.
After all those years living with his actively open-heart-for-others, major blockage in one of its key arteries caused Mr. Hernandez’s sudden death.
During funeral services, his daughters lost track of how many people, from the business world and beyond, told them stories about how their dad guided and encouraged them. Much to the Hernandez women’s surprise, the CEO of Northrop Grumman sent a company plane filled with members of the board to the funeral to pay their respects to Mr. Hernandez.
A group associated with the oldest of Mr. Hernandez’s grandchildren also made time to attend Mr. Hernandez’s funeral. A number of John Hernandez-Brown’s friends dating back to their younger baseball playing days traveled from various places to honor his grandfather, he says. Mr. Hernandez attended all of their games. “No matter where the game or scrimmage was, I always knew that my Pap Pap would be there,” says John Hernandez-Brown, 21.
Grandfather and grandson deeply appreciated the sport of baseball and its finer points. “As a child, my grandfather and his friends went to Forbes Field and spoke to [Roberto] Clemente,” Hernandez-Brown says with wide eyes. “Number 21 was always my number in baseball.” Naturally, “Pap Pap was a massive [Pittsburgh] Pirates fan,” he adds.
Pap Pap could also be found “watching Santino’s flying lessons, watching Talia’s dance competitions, trading jokes with Orlando, helping coach Gabriella’s volleyball team, taking Anthony to golf lessons, playing on the beach with Giovanna or singing to Giancarlo,” Hernandez-Brown says of his grandfather’s relationships with the other Hernandez grandchildren.
Indeed, this gifted CFO is most remembered for his selflessness.
As they deal individually and collectively with the vast void left in Bill Hernandez’ absence, “Our family’s goal is to keep saying his name,” muses his spouse of 50 years.
