Born in Mayfield (now Palo Alto), Santa Clara County, California. He and his father Giovanni owned Bracchi and Son Garage in Palo Alto, California in 1917. Later that year he moved his family to Bakersfield, California where he worked in the automotive business as a mechanic and machinist until he established Bracchi's Garage along the alley behind the family's house at 1927 20th Street in Bakersfield. Bill married Esther Minter in Bakersfield on 23 Apr 1915 . He purchased 3/4 of a section of land in Walker Basin, Kern County, California in 1930 and ran some cattle there. Bill suffered a heart attack in early February of 1941 and died 3 months later. His widow Esther sold the ranch shortly after his death.

His name was listed William Lewis Bracchi on his WW I and WW II Draft Registration cards, to which he signed his name (William L. Bracchi), implying that was correct. It was also William Lewis Bracchi in the California Death Index.
On his son John's baptism certificate he was listed as William Louis Bracchi.

In the early 1980's I located my grandfather's former ranch property on south side of Piute Mountain and saw that the deteriorated floor of the cabin was still there and Bracchi Spring was still running, even in the autumn of that drought year.

William L. Bracchi
Occupation: garage owner
Funeral held at Payne and Son Chapel
Officiating, Rev. Louis Kueffner
Burial Union Cemetery
Member of the Native Sons
Residence in area for 25 years
Husband of Esther Bracchi
Father of John and George Bracchi of Bakersfield, Pearl Burdick of Santa Maria
Brother of Bart of Portland, Ore., Ernest of San Francisco, Henry of San Jose and Leland of San Jose; Jennie Vandervoort and Virginia Kellenberg of Palo Alto
Grandfather of William Burdick .
Pall bearers, William Hastle, Pete Gattie, Leroy Rankin, Charles Rankin, Dave Kofahi, and Karl Schaefer

Bakersfield Californian, May 6, 1941