William Christian Asserson III

1934 - 2018

William Christian Asserson, III
September 23, 1934 - May 4, 2018

William Christian Asserson, III, 83, was born September 23, 1934 in Pensacola to Captain W.C. Asserson, Jr. and Marusia Zaharova Asserson of Siberia.

"Will" died May 4, 2018 suddenly & unexpectedly in Bakersfield. Will and younger brother, Peter, grew up on U.S. Naval bases where their father was an aviator. Will rarely had friends his age to play with so he hung out at the Marine barracks on the base; they welcomed him & taught him everything they were learning about weapons and ammunition. Will loved it with a passion that lasted his entire life.

When they lived in the U.S. Panama Canal Zone, his grandmother lived with them & spoke Russian all day with his mother. Will became bilingual and remained so all his life. Most people never knew it.

When Marusia's father died in Siberia, her mother moved with her 3 daughters to Harbin, China where she worked as a seamstress. One of Marusia's older sisters met, dated & married a U.S. Naval Officer in China. He later returned stateside & was permitted to take Marusia & her mother to America with them. Marusia graduated from Coronado High School where she learned English.

Will & I met in church on Sunday at a church-sponsored "Solos" social. We continued with the "Solos" & dated for a year. I always have believed that God sent Will to me & my three children.

We married in 1969 at Trinity United Methodist Church. The children & I were elated to be a family again & to have such a loving, honest, loyal man for their Dad. God surely had blessed us.

I underwent two serious surgeries, thyroid cancer (1970) & ruptured spinal disc (1972). After we paid for them, Will announced that he wanted to adopt my children, and he did. Huck (18) was especially handsome in his U.S. Marine uniform and his two beautiful sisters, Melissa (16) & Alison (14) were lovely looking. After the adoption procedure, the judge said to Will, "How fortunate you are to have such a remarkable new family. You are a lucky man." Bursting with happiness, Will said he knew that & was most grateful.

Next day, my first father-in-law called from New York & thanked Will "for assuming the lifelong responsibilities of another man (his son) & wished all of us a wonderful new life as a family."

Will's parents were thrilled to finally have grandchildren. And, they were "so special."

The state transferred Chuck Graves & Will to Chico in 1974 where they worked hard & accomplished a lot. We transferred back to Bakersfield in 1979. We bought a lovely home with a large swimming pool & lots of room for our two Labradors. Swimming "laps" was a favorite lifelong activity of both Will & me. We were really "in heaven."

Will continued working hard & enjoying his job. He later became the unit manager of the Tehachapi Region. He gave the job all he had until his retirement.

At one point when he was engrossed in his work, Will postponed two colonoscopies. When one was done, he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2011. He immediately went under the care & guidance of Alan Cartmell, M.D. Bakersfield's best oncologist and his extraordinary aide, June White. We are immensely grateful to them for all their help to us.

After successful surgery by Dr. Loos, 82; a thorough course of chemotherapy; & the 5-year follow-up at Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center, Will totally beat the cancer.

For many years, Will gladly donated his O-type blood (which can be used by any blood-type person in need) at Houchin Blood Bank. He was within one pint of 18 donated gallons when the cancer diagnosis ended his donating. He hoped to resume, then he learned he had kidney cancer. Dr. Hua Chang joined Dr. Cartmell in battling that cancer, thank you all.

After our children had left home, Will invited me to join him on the road as he worked for California Department of Fish & Game, where he worked for 53 years. We became inseparable as he answered calls to help wildlife in need & went wherever his work took him: up, up to Black Rock Guard Station pulling the 23 foot state trailer to check-in deer hunters; up to Lone Pine to get on the helicopter with its big doors removed, so we could count deer over the Sierra Nevada Mountains - piloted by the greatest, safest pilot Steve De Jesus. We traveled into Monache Meadows to check on the beautiful golden trout.

Ours was a marvelously happy life filled with God's wonderful blessings - 4823 out. Betsy.

Service will be held Friday, October 5, 2018, at 10:00 am, at Mission Family Mortuary, 531 California Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93304. Military honors to follow at Bakersfield National Cemetery, 30338 E Bear Mountain Blvd, Arvin, CA 93203.