Wilhelm Kellerman

May 10th 1915 - December 20th 2012

Wilhelm Kellerman, known to most as Bill, was born in Astoria, Oregon. He was the only child of Swedish immigrants Frans Axel Hugo Kellerman and Maria Elvira Sjokvist. Bill was raised in Seattle, WA. In his late teens, he served in the National Guard and later joined the Merchant Marines. Bill had a love of the sea and sailed the world aboard many liberty ships and served in the US Coast Guard during WWII from 12/7/1941-8/15/45. He was a master engineer and worked aboard many research and private vessels. In 1956 he participated in nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands as a boat captain for the Navy during “Operation Redwing”. During this operation he witnessed several atomic blasts. His descriptive account of these events wowed many and his stories live on.

Bill owned and operated several fishing boats. In the late 1950’s he acquired his first vessel – the Chinook Sportfisher, based in Seal Beach. He then delved into commercial fishing with the vessel Paloma in 1958 followed by Hugo in 1965, and Ruth K in 1978. Over a nearly 50 year career, Bill fished for salmon, albacore and swordfish throughout the eastern Pacific.

One day early in his career, Bill grew tired of the cold northwest and charted a 180 degree course to the warm waters off sunny San Diego. In 1961 he married Ruth Fassen Leon. They settled in Ocean Beach. He finally retired in the 90’s and volunteered for the San Diego Maritime Museum narrating and giving demonstrations for visitors aboard the Berkeley. He provided information in one of his many areas of expertise - the inner workings of steam engines.

Bill’s life long impact stretches far and wide. He is remembered for his tireless work ethic by family and friends. He is survived by wife Ruth, sons Bill Jr. and Wayne, and grandchildren Elizabeth and Garrett. He passed away in the Pt. Loma home he built, with family at his side. Military Funeral Honors will be performed at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery at 12:00 PM on Friday, January 25, 2013.