Salinas CA

William George Schramm passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on November 10th, 2024, aged 89. He was born and raised in Huntington Park, California by his parents William Joseph Schramm and Virginia Schramm. At High School Bill was named to the All Los Angeles City Football team and was also named the Outstanding Graduate of his High School Class. He then attended the University of Southern California on an NROTC scholarship, where he played on the Trojan freshmen football team and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. During his freshman year, he obtained a Congressional appointment to the Naval Academy and chose to leave USC for Annapolis in the summer of 1954.

He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958 as part of the 17th Company and the day after married the love of his life, MaryAnn (Mimi) McIntosh Schramm.

Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the U.S.

Navy and reported to flight training in Pensacola, after which he became a Patrol Plane Commander on various aircrafts (P5M Marlin, P2V Neptune and P3 Orion). In 1964 he was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School where he earned a Master’s degree in Oceanography and Meteorology. He was then selected as a Geophysics Special Duty Officer and in subsequent assignments taught at the Naval Academy in his role as Head of the Oceanography Department, served as Commanding Officer of Oceanographic Unit One, attended the Naval Postgraduate School a second time in a Doctoral program in Oceanography, served as a Department Head at the Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology Oceanography Center and in his final tour was the Commanding Officer of the Naval Environmental Prediction Research Facility.

After 24 years of active duty, Bill retired in 1982 as a Captain U.S. Navy, and moved the family to Geneva, Switzerland where he was employed by the World Meteorological Organization as a senior program officer/diplomat.

He retired from the United Nations in 1988 and returned to Monterey to be the Head of the National Ocean Service which is part of NOAA. In 1995 he retired from the Federal Civil Service and joined the founding faculty at the California State University of Monterey Bay where he taught environmental science.

Throughout his life, Bill was active in numerous local clubs and organizations, in most cases volunteering for leadership positions. Alongside his wife Mimi, he was a volunteer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for many years and was awarded Volunteer Emeritus status for his service.

He served on the Board of Directors of Dorothy's Kitchen, a local charity that feeds the homeless, was the President of two clubs for retired men and was also President of alocal garden club. He is survived by Mimi, his wife of 66 years, daughters Kathleen, Karen and Kristin and 5 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Betty Schramm and his daughter Kelly.

Memorial services will be held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and a celebration of life ceremony will be organized at a later date. Inurnment will be at the San Carlos cemetery.