William King

William John King, who taught agriculture at Petaluma High School for close to four decades and coached generations of FFA and 4-H kids in fairs and national competitions, died Nov. 2 in a San Francisco hospital.

King, 75, died after a yearlong battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

A lifelong resident of Petaluma, he grew up on the 150-acre ranch his Irish grandfather purchased in 1905, off Adobe and Corona roads.

At age 11, King showed a prize steer at the Junior Grand National Livestock Exhibition at the Cow Palace, and while a student at Petaluma High School one of his projects was caring for 2,000 laying hens at the family ranch.

The year after he graduated high school, he was honored with a coveted American Farmer Degree.

He went on to study at UC Davis, where he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in range management. In the university cafeteria, he met Freda Zehrbach, a psychology major who would become his future wife.

King also picked up a teaching credential at Davis. It was a time when family farms like his, with diversified dairy, chicken and hay, were having trouble competing against larger corporate operations that concentrated on a single commodity.

King was encouraged to go into teaching and he took a job at Petaluma High in 1966, staying 39 years, teaching agricultural mechanics, welding and small engines.

“My dad was an educator at heart, whether teaching kids in school or showing us how to mix feed here at home. He got a lot of satisfaction out of helping people learn,” said his daughter, Debbie Maus of Palm Desert.

She said his former students told her “you would really love Mr. King or you would find a way to transfer out of his class.”

That was because “he was not going to coddle them” if they didn’t apply themselves, Maus said.

During his career, he coached teams of students in hundreds of agricultural mechanics competitions, which might involve welding, construction of small engines, building equipment trailers and “creep” feeders that allow calves access, but not cows.

“My dad worked harder in the summer months - what some might consider off time for a school teacher - because that’s when it became fair time,” his daughter said.

His teams won the California State Future Farmers of America championship and a trip to the national championships 14 times. King was named to the California Agricultural Teachers’ Hall of Fame in 2007.

Despite numerous honors and awards, his family said he was most proud of the hundreds of former students who went on to successful careers in agriculture and several who followed in his path to become teachers.

When he wasn’t teaching, King could be found raising beef, sheep and hogs on the family ranch, but he also enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a devoted San Francisco 49ers fan who enjoyed road trips to their away games.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, Freda, of Petaluma; son Joe King of Ventura; and two grandchildren.

A celebration of life is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Petaluma Elks Lodge #901, 2015 S. McDowell Blvd.

In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Petaluma FFA, c/o Petaluma High School, 201 Fair St., Petaluma, 94952, or AML Research at UCSF, P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, 94145, noting Dr. Andreadis (B3208) in honor of William King.