Otto Ernest Kiessig, 89, passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005, after a lengthy illness. He had been a Camarillo resident for the past 43 years.
Otto, or Ernest, as most of his friends knew him, was born in Spokane, Wash., on Aug. 12,1916. He was the middle child of Bruno and Bertha Kiessig, who had emigrated from Germany in 1911.
He was an athletic youth and pedalled a hand-built bicycle from Spokane, Wash., to San Diego to join the U.S. Navy at age 19, with a desire to see the world. He served in Pearl Harbor on the original submarine USS Nautilus. After finishing his stint in the Navy, and after several years in the merchant marine, he joined the fledgling Army Air Corps to train as a pilot. After World War II, he re-enlisted in the Air Force and became a flight engineer for the next 24 years.
Ernest married Leona Layton on Jan. 26, 1947. Together they had two children, Joel and Marlene. After he retired from the Air Force, they settled in Camarillo, and Ernest began work in building rocket engines at Rocketdyne in Canoga Park. Rocketdyne built the engines that lifted the Apollo astronauts into space. When the program wound down, he looked for other projects. Among them, at Oxnard Airport he participated in converting various aircraft to look like Japanese planes for the major motion picture "Tora! Tora! Tora!" the story of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The final 14 years of his working career were spent as an owner-operator long-haul trucker, crisscrossing the nation carrying the household goods of military families and FBI officers.
The common thread of his varied career was travel, which he continued to enjoy in retirement, as he traveled to visit relatives, attended Air Force squadron reunions, and played with his grandchildren. Although he was too modest to ever acknowledge the many acts of service he rendered, he will be remembered for helping friends, neighbors, and those in need, as well as for helping on many church service projects. He was a generous man who loved his friends and family.
Ernest was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on November 29, 2003, and was an officer of the - Camarillo Veterans of Foreign Wars post in the 1960s.
Otto Ernest Kiessig and wife, Leona Layton Kiessig, on 56th Wedding Anniversary, January 26, 2003 in Camarillo, CA
Leona Layton Kiessig, Ernest Kiessig and children, Joel Kiessig, Marlene Kiessig Biesinger after 2004 sealing at Los Angeles Temple
Ernie is survived by his wife of 58 years, married January 26, 1947, Leona Layton Kiessig of Camarillo; son, Joel Kiessig (wife Becky) of Granite Bay, Calif.; and daughter, Marlene Biesinger (husband Gerald) of Pleasant Grove, Utah. He is also survived by six grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.
