A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. March 6 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1480 Douglas Ave., in Gardnerville for William Louis Hussman, 88, who died at his home in Minden on Feb. 4, 2010.
Born in Santa Cruz, Calif., on July 7, 1921, to Otto Louis and Mathilda Jepsen Hussman, he was the grandchild of early Carson Valley settlers. The family moved to Grants Pass, Ore., then returned to Gardnerville in 1927 where Mr. Hussman spent the rest of his childhood, graduating from Douglas County High School in 1939.
He loved planes and flying from an early age and continued with flying lessons while attending Sacramento State College and became a flight instructor. He instructed military pilots when the war broke out and then was hired by Pan American Airways in 1943, retiring after 35 years in 1978. His career began aboard the early Pan Am Clipper flying boats based at Treasure Island and ended in San Francisco as captain aboard the Boeing 747.
He met Betty Hussman, a stewardess for Pan Am, at the Moana Hotel on Waikiki during a layover in Honolulu in 1946. They were married in 1947.
A lifelong member of Trinity Lutheran Church, he served as treasurer and performed repairs on the church grounds for many years.
Mr. Hussman is preceded in death by his parents, sister Margaret A. Hussman McMeekin, and daughter Mary Hussman.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Betty Hussman; son Mark Hussman of Gardnerville, and nephew, Jeff McMeekin and family of Palo Alto, Calif.
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