J. L. Wrathall Obituary
Mr. Wrathall, aged 92, died on October 30, 2011, after a stroke.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Gloria.
He is survived by his three children; Jamie Haas of Sausalito, Celia Book of Goleta, and James A. Wrathall of Hillsborough, one grandchild and two great-grandchildren.
He was born and raised on a farm/ranch in Grantsville, Utah, son of Paul and Carrie Wrathall, attended the school system there, and entered the University of Utah in 1937 where he studied engineering.
His college career was interrupted in the spring of 1941 when he applied to what was then the Army Air Corps for flight training as an aviation cadet. He was accepted and ordered to report for duty in early June of that year, he graduated in January of 1942 with his 'Wings" and the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
He spent most of the war at various flight training schools, most notably at the Tuskegee Army Flight School in Alabama where he was an advanced flight instructor and later Director of Gunnery.
In early 1945 he was transferred to Germany where he was assigned to a fighter squadron. The war was almost over, and he was involved in only a little actual combat.
He volunteered to remain in Europe with the army of occupation for a year, and was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Lt. Colonel.
He then returned to the UofU to finish his education and it was there that he met his future wife Gloria. They were married in 1947.
Upon graduation he worked for Westinghouse for a few years then resigned to co-found the firm of Wrathall & Krusi Inc. a manufacturer's representative with world head-quarters in San Francisco.
In 1980, he served as president of the EERA, a national association of companies like his own. In addition, he was a member of the board of directors of two Bay Area companies.
He served as president and later chairman of the board of his company until he retired at the end of 1982 in order to spend more time with his family and to pursue his many hobbies. He and his wife Gloria loved to travel, and they visited all of the continents except Antarctica, and all of the major countries, including China in 1990 and what was then the USSR in 1970. They also rode the Orient Express from Paris to Budapest.
At his request there will be no funeral.
Arrangements by The Neptune Society.