Frederick William ‘Bill’dassler

January 16, 1933 - December 29, 2020

LANCASTER, CA — Frederick William (Bill) Dassler, formerly of San Diego, passed away on December 29, 2020, due to complications of advancing Parkinson’s disease. He was 87 years old.

Bill is survived by his wife of 69 years, Bertie “Bert” L. (Heatley) Dassler; his half-siblings, Charles Eddleman of Maryland and Janet Towey of Pennsylvania; his children, David W. Dassler (Gay Marie) of Santa Barbara, CA, Steven A. Dassler (Brigitte) of Lancaster, CA, and Jennifer D. Coalwell (Bruce) of Roseburg, OR; his 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

Bill was born on January 16, 1933, in Philadelphia, PA, to Janet Tait (Ure) Dassler and Frederick William Dassler, Sr. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a seaman recruit and later, as a seaman apprentice, was stationed at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in Charleston, SC where he met Bert Heatley on a blind date. They were married four months later, on July 15, 1951.

Bill’s naval career included cruises aboard the U.S.S. Wasp and Iwo Jima. Throughout the years, he was stationed in Newfoundland as a Seabee and at N.A.S. Los Alamitos, N.A.S. Ream Field/imperial Beach, N.A.S. Barbers Point on Oahu, HI, Binh Thuy Air Base in Vietnam, and N.A.S. North Island.

Bill passed away at home in Lancaster, CA, surrounded by family.

A private memorial service with military honors was held at the Bakersfield National Cemetery on Friday, January 15, 2021.

Please sign the Guest Book online obituaries.sandiegouniontribune.com