Balbino (Bill) Achurra

| June 17, 2021 1:00 AM

Balbino (Bill) Achurra, 86, died June 12, 2021, at his home in Moses Lake, Washington, with his family at his side.

Holy Rosary and Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. at Kayser’s Chapel of Memories on Thursday, June 17. Funeral services will be at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Moses Lake, Washington, on Friday, June 18, at 10:30 a.m. Bill will be laid to rest at Churchill County Cemetery in Fallon, Nevada.

Bill grew up on an 80-acre cattle ranch which also had 30 dairy cows, which he was in charge of at the young age of 12. He attended a one-room school house from the first to the eighth grade. He got there on his mustang pony named Jeep. Bill loved working on cars. When he was 12 years of age, he put a ‘47 Mercury V8 in a ‘34 Ford Coupe. Bill was part of the FFA and won an award for designing a parlor barn for dairy cows. A family friend, John Getto, loved Bill’s design and asked if he would build him one. Bill refused, stating that he had no construction experience, but Mr. Getto convinced him that if he could design it, he could build it. He built that parlor barn at 16 years old, and spent the next 65 years as a builder. He proceeded to build a Dairy Queen in Fallon at 17 years old, which still stands to this day. He married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Jean Taylor. Together their family grew in love and numbers.

Bill is survived by his wife of 68 years Shirley Achurra; his six children Stephen Achurra (Serena), Matthew Achurra (Julie), Diana Johnson (Clay), Patrick Achurra, John Achurra and Marta Mazzei (Chris); 17 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren

He was preceded in death by his parents Joe and Connie Achurra, brother John Achurra and sister Victoria Fowler.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to Our Lady of Fatima building fund or your preferred charity.

A special thank you to the staff at Assured Hospice in Moses Lake, Washington, for their loving care and support during his final days.

Please express your thoughts and memories at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are under the care of Kayser’s Chapel of Memories of Moses Lake, Washington.