William Max Kull

December 30, 1929 - March 3, 2020 Corona del Mar resident William "Bill" Kull passed away at home on March 3, 2020. Bill was born Dec. 30, 1929 in Huntsville, Alabama, to Julius and Sue Kull. His time in Alabama included frequent visits to the farm his grandparents, Julius and America Kull, homesteaded when they immigrated from Switzerland. At eight years of age Bill moved to Chicago, where he lived until graduating from Lane Technical High School. In the intervening years he sold newspapers on the street corner (including to notorious gangster, Al Touhy), was an usher at a movie theater, and worked as a cook on a ship on Lake Michigan. In summers, he returned to visit relatives in Alabama, picking cotton and helping harvest grapes from his grandfather's vineyard in preparation for making wine. He spent two years at Florence (AL) State Teachers College, completing his education via Navy flight school. Given the choice to fly bombers with the Navy or jets with the Marines, in October 1951 he joined Marine squadron VMA-118 and in January, 1952 he was sent to serve in the Korean war, with just 30 hours of flight time under his belt. In subsequent years he served tours of duty in Japan and Viet Nam, flying A-4s from land and aircraft carriers and earning a Bronze Star and Distinguished Flying Cross, among other honors. Though he retired from the Marine Corps in 1972, his heart was always with them and he continued to meet with the VMA-223 Bulldogs squadron for annual reunions.His companion in life was Sarah Miller, whom he met in a Hollywood, Florida, diner in 1958. When he laid eyes on "the prettiest girl I ever saw," she was crying, and in a way that was typical of Bill, his heart went out to her. He and Sarah married just six weeks later in Winton, Minnesota. During their more than 61 years of marriage they moved throughout California, following Bill's USMC postings, living in Carmel, Santa Ana, Coronado, and finally in Corona del Mar, where they resided for 52 years and raised their three daughters, Linzee, Marcia, and Carolyn.Following his retirement from the Marines, Bill pursued a financial services career with Mutual Savings and California Federal and was a member of the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president in 1977. Bill is survived by his daughters Linzee McCray (Paul) and grandchildren Maggie (EJ Crawford and great-granddaughter Freya) and Rebecca (Chris Leslie-Hynan); Marcia (Gary Maher) and grandchildren Anna and Karl; Carolyn Strandberg (Jeff) and grandchildren Lindsey (Sean Heyliger and great-granddaughters Sabrina and Gaby) and Russell; sister Marie Higginbotham; sister-in-law Marcia Dimmel; and dear friends Jane Bowman and Jeff Wallingford. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Sarah, and brothers-in-law John R. Dimmel and Bill Higginbotham.A memorial service (casual attire) will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., with remarks starting at 1:30 p.m., on Thursday, March 12 at the Newport Coast Community Center, 6401 San Joaquin Hills Road. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Semper Fi Fund https://semperfifund.org/.