William John King

On November 2, 2014 Bill King passed away peacefully after a year-long battle with leukemia. Born September 9, 1939, he was a life-long Petaluma resident. At age 11, he showed his prized steer at the Junior Grand National Livestock Exhibition at the Cow Palace. While a student at Petaluma High School, one of his projects was 2,000 laying hens. The year after he graduated, he earned the coveted American Farmer Degree. Bill went on to UC Davis where he obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Range Management as well as a teaching credential. While at UC Davis, he met his future wife, Freda Zehrbach. In 1966, Bill became a teacher at Petaluma High School where he stayed for the next 39 years teaching agricultural mechanics, welding, and small engines. During his career, he coached teams of students in hundreds of agricultural mechanics competitions. His teams won the California state FFA championship and a trip to the national championship 14 different times, more than any other teacher in the nation. Bill was heavily involved in local agriculture as an FFA advisor and 4-H leader and could always be found at the local fairs. He won numerous honors and awards including being named to the California Agricultural Teachers' Hall of Fame in 2007. Despite these personal honors, the accomplishment of which Bill was most proud were the hundreds of former students who themselves went on to successful careers in agriculture, especially the several who followed his path becoming teachers. When he wasn't at his "day job," Bill could usually be found raising beef, sheep and hogs on the family ranch that his grandfather purchased in 1905. While Bill valued a good day's work, he also enjoyed hunting and fishing with his many cherished friends. As a devoted San Francisco 49ers fan, Bill enjoyed road trips, travelling to several away games, seeing friends and family along the way. He was predeceased by his father Joseph, mother Sarah Elizabeth (McClure), brothers Tom, Dave, Joe, and Jim and sister Annabelle. He is survived by his wife Freda, son Joe (Sandra), daughter Debbie (John) Maus, granddaughters Jesa and Jackie, and numerous nieces and nephews. A celebration of Bill's life will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday November 15, 2014 at the Petaluma Elks Lodge #901, 2105 S McDowell Blvd. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Petaluma FFA c/o Petaluma High School, 201 Fair Street, Petaluma, CA 94952 or AML research at UCSF, PO Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145, noting Dr. Andreadis (B3208) in honor of William King.