Wyllie, Bunnie Lawrence

Bunnie Lawrence Wyllie was born in Fresno, California, on June 18, 1887, to Franklin Pierce Wyllie and Elizabeth Harris. Raised in Fresno County, he attended public schools in Burrel and Helm before graduating from Fresno High School in 1908. He began his career at the Bank of Coalinga as a bookkeeper, eventually earning promotions to receiving teller and assistant cashier prior to stepping away to pursue ranching, hog raising, and commercial business ventures in Fresno and Coalinga.

Throughout his professional life, Bunnie remained an active and enterprising figure in his community, serving two creditworthy terms as the city treasurer of Coalinga. On November 29, 1911, he married Stella Jenkins of Salinas, a Hanford High School and San Jose State Normal graduate who worked as a teacher in Coalinga. Tragically, his promising career was cut short when he passed away from influenza on January 5, 1919. He left behind a respected legacy as an industrious citizen, following in the pioneering footsteps of his father, who had introduced alfalfa and key irrigation projects to the Helm district.