User:Wendyleerogers/sandbox
William "Bill" Edward Kettler's grandparents were German immigrants, Emil Kettler and Amalie Ruoff – farmer and land owner
His parents were, William Frederick Kettler and Margaret Cecelia Connors
He was born: March 10, 1922 in Garden Grove, CA
He was Valedictorian of his class at Springdale Elementary Around 1935, as a young boy he often hiked in the rural area now called the Bolsa Chica wetlands mesa. On his hikes, he found arrowheads, cogs, and two full skeletons in what is now known to be the Indian Middens of the Juanenos (Gabrielino-Tongva Band of Mission Indians. He brought them home until around 1950 when he met an American Indian – Apache, named Colonel Ted Davis, who convinced him that the bones needed a dignified burial. So the bones were buried privately without ceremony in the Smith (now Good Shepherd) Cemetery. Bill graduated from Huntington Beach Union High School in 1939
Bill married Marjorie Marie Smith on Sept. 23, 1943 He went to UCLA 1939-42 He enlisted in the Army Aircorp (the US Airforce) in 1942 during WWII. He entered US Army Technical Training School at Yale and is commissioned after graduation. When the war ended, Bill was a captain but stayed in the reserves and retired a Lt. Colonel
Then he went to work for his father-in-law at Smith’s Mortuary (17 years) In 1962, he became a Financial Consultant with CLU designation in 1971 and Securities Principal In the 1990’s developers propose building on the Bolsa Chica land area, claiming that it wasn’t an Indian Burial ground. It wasn’t until Bill came forward with his buried discovery that the truth would come out. This discovery would later become ORA-83, one of the South County’s most significant archeological sites, an 8,000 year old American Indian village and burial ground. http://www.bolsachicalandtrust.org/native_americans.html http://www.scahome.org/publications/proceedings/Proceedings.21Couch.pdf
After serving for 13 years as a trustee of the HB Elementary School District (a three time President) and a trustee for 17 years and a President twice with the Coast Community College, the William E. Kettler school is dedicated in 1973 and was open until June 2005.
His other service titles are: Past President of the Rotary Club of Huntington Beach, past Director of the HB Chamber of Commerce, past member of the HB Planning Commission, served the American Legion and held a position with the Family Service Association.
He is currently a Bolsa Chica Land Trust docent and current board member of the Rotary Club of Huntington Beach Rotary.