William James Arbus

William (Bill) James Arbus passed away suddenly on November 3rd 2024. 

Bill was born February 11, 1956 in Jamestown, Ohio to William Duffield Arbus and Jean Loa McFadden. He was raised in Ohio for a short period before the family moved to North Bend, Oregon, where he remained until he was 18. Bill’s father founded and ran Camp Arago in Oregon. Bill spent his youth educating himself and working with his father at the camp. There he learned how to build all types of structures on the property, as well as the tenets of running a business. During this time, Bill was quite active in scouting, earning his Eagle Scout Award.

Bill graduated from North Bend High School in 1974. He was proud to be a North Bend Bulldog. In 2005, Bill graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Phoenix. 

Bill started his career working as a roughneck in the oil fields in Wyoming. He remained there for a few years until moving to Spanish Fork, Utah where he met the love of his life, Pamela Ann Clement. They were married on December 22, 1979 in Lovelock, Nevada. Next month they would have celebrated their 45th anniversary. They had 2 children together, William Rodney Arbus and Tiffany Calandra Arbus. 

Bill came to Utah to help his friend Chuck run the Texaco in Spanish Fork. Soon after, Bill decided to take his first stab at entrepreneurship when he chose to start an auto parts business next door to the Texaco. Later he decided to take on another adventure in the recycled auto parts business. He founded Recycle Car Parts in Salt Lake City. They repaired and relined brake shoes, remanufactured water pumps and alternators to be sold at big box distributors. Bill and Pam moved the family to American Fork in 1986 to cut down his commute and have more time to spend with family. 

Bill was always an engineer at heart. He held a patent on an automotive transmission that he invented. In 1998 he was ready for a new challenge and started working at Autozone. He was quickly promoted to store manager. He did well there and soon found himself on a new team where he helped to open both new, and remodel existing locations. Years later when he was ready for something new, he decided to join the team at Auto Safety House in Salt Lake City as the general manager. They ran a service and parts distribution center for fire trucks. Shortly after joining the company, he, along with a couple of partners, had the opportunity to purchase that business. They rebranded the company that we now know as Apparatus Equipment & Service. They then expanded the business to include manufacturing of new fire apparatus and ambulance sales as well as firefighter equipment sales. Bill was working on a retirement plan when he suddenly passed. 

Throughout his life, Bill loved being able to share his knowledge of survival and life skills. Whether it was with Will and Tiffany, or the kids he taught while serving as a scout troop leader he had a passion for teaching. He and Pam would frequently take the family camping in the mountains in Utah. In their childhood, Will and Tiffany learned the value of hard work and were able to witness Bill’s commendable work ethic first hand. 

When he was not working, he enjoyed spending time with his family, as well as traveling. Once he and Pam became empty nesters, they would go on many cruises. He was particularly fond of their cruise to the Panama Canal because of the planning and engineering it requires to function. He also enjoyed going back to Oregon with Pam, and spending time in Washington with his sisters. He tried to get up to Seattle to visit every year after Thanksgiving, where they always took a day to have a big seafood fest. He was recently blessed with his first granddaughter, Annie. He and Pam would spend time with her every chance they had. 

He desired to remain active in retirement and still have the opportunity to work on a limited basis. He loved 70s rock music. He especially enjoyed Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Eagles. He also really enjoyed the Beatles, Steppenwolf and Grand Funk Railroad. He was an avid fan of 8 track tapes and was holding out hope that they would make a comeback. He firmly believed the sound was far superior to CDs. 

Bill was known for always greeting you with a smile and sharing one of his stories. He shared his passion and expertise of building and automotive knowledge with anybody who was receptive.

He leaves behind his wife Pam Arbus, his children William Arbus (Holly), and Tiffany Arbus, Sisters Charon Arbus-Geigle (Nick), Molly Hurd (Markham), and Kristin Goodman-Arbus (Scott), and granddaughter Annie Arbus. 

A celebration of life will be held on November 22, 2024 from 12pm to 6 pm. It will be held at the shop: 1103 South 700 West in Salt Lake City. Food will be provided. Please contact Will Arbus if you have any questions. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Bill’s memory to the U of U Burn center. 

See below:

The University of Utah Burn Center 50 N. Medical Dr. SLC, UT 84105

annette.matherly@hsc.utah.edu phone: 801-585-2076 

https://healthcare.utah.edu/burn-center/support-our-center

To leave condolences, visit www.legacyfunerals.com