Landmark Vineyards founder Bill Mabry dies at 91

Born into a working-class family from the small East Bay town of Rodeo, Bill Mabry Jr. was faced with two options: work at the local oil refinery or go over to the sugar refinery in neighboring Crockett. He chose neither.

A son of an oil refinery worker, he left town to go to college, a decision that eventually paved his way to the Sonoma Valley where he and his family founded Landmark Vineyards, a prestigious winery in Kenwood.

Mabry, a retired Army colonel who lived in Sonoma, where he once ran an architecture firm, died on March 17 from pneumonia. He was 91.

“He was really proud of the winery and what they created there. He used to say ‘Not bad for a boy from Rodeo,’?” said his granddaughter Hannah Mabry, 24, of Santa Rosa.

He left Rodeo and eventually moved to Santa Rosa where he studied at the junior college, said his son, Bill Mabry III of Forestville. He then joined the Army Air Corps as a pilot during World War II.

After the war, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in architecture and moved to Sonoma where he built a home and started an architectural firm. When the Korean conflict broke out, he returned to military service.

He spent 20 years in the service, which included two tours in Vietnam. After he retired, he pursued a master’s degree in business administration and went to work as the plant operations chief at Sonoma State University around 1970, his son said.

It was around that time that he decided to plant wine grapes on 17 acres he had purchased off Denmark Street in Sonoma.

The family then purchased land in Alexander Valley and planted more grapes before launching Landmark Vineyards, one of the first wineries featuring premium chardonnay from the Russian River region. The family first built the winery in Windsor and later relocated it to the Sonoma Valley.

“The whole wine industry was just starting to explode,” Bill Mabry III said. “These were the pioneer years of the wine industry in Sonoma.”

Despite all the hours he put into the winery, he continued to work at the college, where he didn’t retire until 1989 or ’90, his son said. He said his father didn’t mind the workload, though, because the winery brought the family closer together.

“He showed us how to live our lives,” said Bill Mabry III, who served as the winemaker. “He was hardworking (and) he was dedicated to his family.”

The family sold the winery in 1994.

However, Mabry never quit working. He went on to supervise numerous construction projects for longtime builders and founders of Oakmont Senior Living, Bill and Cindy Gallaher. The Gallahers have developed dozens of senior facilities around the state, including the Varenna senior living community in Santa Rosa. Mabry supervised the construction of the first model home at Varenna, Cindy Gallaher said.

“He was retired. He basically didn’t need to work,” she said. But, she added, “he wanted to and he enjoyed it.”

Mabry decided to officially retire at 84 to take care of his ailing wife of 68 years, Maxine, who he met in high school. Mabry became her primary caregiver and even had to learn to cook but didn’t quite master it, his son said.

“He gave it a shot,” he said, adding, “He was so dedicated to her.”

Maxine Mabry died three years ago. She was 87.

In addition to Hannah and Bill Mabry III, he is survived by his daughter, Katherine Mabry, who lives in Graton; and another granddaughter.

A celebration of Mabry’s life will be held from 1-4 p.m. on April 25. For information, call 695-8730.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Friends in Sonoma Helping, or FISH, which provides food, clothing and other emergency services to needy families in Sonoma Valley.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com.