William Gerard Kampen Jr.

William “Billy” Gerard Kampen, Jr., 64, passed away on July 24, 2024. Billy was born on January 14, 1960, in New Orleans, the son of the late William Gerard Kampen, Sr. and Thelma Betz Kampen. He is the proud father of his two daughters, Kathryn “Katie” Gruber Kampen and Kellie Louise Kampen.

Billy grew up in Metairie and attended St. Philip Neri elementary school as a member of the class of 1974, and he recently attended their 50 year class reunion. He graduated from Archbishop Rummel High School in 1978, where he played many sports, but excelled in baseball. He was a member of the Jefferson Parish baseball team that won the Babe Ruth World Series in 1975. After turning down an offer from the Seattle Mariners in the 1978 MLB Draft, he accepted an athletic scholarship to Tulane University. As a pitcher on the baseball team, he was a 4-year letterman, named a team captain, received the baseball leadership award, and was a member of two conference championship teams. He graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in 1982, and he returned to Rummel as a P.E. teacher and baseball coach for the next 3 years, where he was initially dubbed “Coach Kampen.” Billy then built a 40-year career for himself as an insurance agent and financial advisor, while still finding time to coach his daughters at the playground.

“Coach Bill” was a longtime coach at Pontiff Playground, where he coached countless softball seasons. One of the highlights of his playground coaching career was the night each of his daughters’ teams won the parish softball championship on the same night, at the same time, on neighboring fields. His love for coaching was felt over the decades, as he continued serving his community through coaching well after his daughters had played. He always put his community first, being the first one to volunteer for carpool pickups, supplying Gatorade and hand-numbered water bottles for the teams, and hosting end of the season pool parties and backyard trophy ceremonies. His top priority was to make sure everyone hustled and had fun playing the sports he loved.

Billy knew no stranger and was widely proclaimed the life of the party. You could find him at Ye Olde College Inn nearly every Friday happy hour. His spring weekends were consistently booked with home games at Turchin Stadium watching The Wave year after year.

Billy was a member and former president of the Archbishop Rummel High School Alumni Association, member of the Tulane Athletic Foundation, long time member of Over The Mountain Athletic Club, and member of the St. Catherine of Siena Men’s Club. He was inducted to the Archbishop Rummel High School Hall of Fame in 2002. He served as president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advising (NAIFA).

Billy’s love for family was profound. He would tell you his greatest achievement was being the father to Katie and Kellie. Billy Kampen loved life like no other. He will be greatly missed.

Remaining to cherish his memory are his daughters, Katie and Kellie, his sisters, Carolynn K. Moncrief and Mary K. Pertuit, and Lori Hahn.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 at St. Catherine of Siena Church, 105 Bonnabel Blvd. Metairie, LA. Visitation will be held from 10:30 AM – 1 PM with a funeral Mass to begin at 1 PM. Interment will follow at St. Patrick Cemetery #1.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Billy’s memory to Archbishop Rummel High School Department of Development, 1901 Severn Ave. Metairie, LA 70001, or Friends of Tulane Baseball, 333 Ben Weiner Dr. New Orleans, LA 70118.