William Friedrick Kieschnick Junior was born on January 5, 1923 to William Friedrick Kieschnick Senior and Effie Meador Kieschnick. He is a great grandson of Andreas Kieschnik. Andreas Kieschnik was born in Dauban, Rothenberg on November 13 or 15, 1828 and was a Ben Nevis passenger. Andreas Kieschnik married Elisabeth Louise Koerner and they had six children. Andreas’ and Elisabeth’s son Johann Carl August Kieschnick was born on August 3, 1865. Johann was the father of William Friedrick Kieschnick Senior and grandfather of William Friedrick Kieschnick Junior.
William Friedrick Keischnick Junior went to college at Rice University, but before he received his degree, he left Rice University to join the Army during World War II. While in the Army he went to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where he was trained as a meteorologist. He served in Africa and Italy as a Captain and was part of the invasion of Italy at Anzio Beach, where he was awarded a bronze star. After being discharged from the Army, William returned to Rice University and received his bachelors of science degree in chemical engineering in 1946 and went to work as an engineer at the Atlantic Refining Company.
As an engineer at the Atlantic Refining Company, William was granted three patents. His first patent was filed on August 22, 1960 with Loyd R. Kern and William J McGuire Junior. Their patent was awarded patent number 3155159, titled “Increasing permeability of subsurface formations” on November 3, 1964. On September 5, 1961, the three engineers collaborated on a second patent filing and on February 15, 1966 they were awarded patent number 3235007 titled “Multilayer propping of fractures”. On February 19, 1962, William Kieschnick teamed with Thomas K. Perkins and Reece E Wyant and filed for a patent on “Plugging materials for vertical fractures”. They were awarded patent number 3249158 on May 3, 1966.
In 1966 the Atlantic Refining Company and the Richfield Oil Corporation merged and formed the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). William Kieschnick rose through the ranks of ARCO and became the president and chief executive in 1981 and held those posts until he retired in 1985 at the age of 62. He was active in his communities until his death in 2013 at the age of 90. William was a member of the boards of trustees at both the California Institute of Technology and Rice University, supporting higher education and engineering. William was also a member of the President’s Circle of the National Academy of Engineering. The ARCO/Kieschnick Chair of the Neurobiology of Aging at the University of Southern California (USC) is an honor bestowed on William for his support of science. William was also a patron of the arts and was a supporter of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. After William moved to Napa California, he helped restore the Napa Valley Opera House.
William Friedrick Kieschnick, Junior was married three times. His first wife was Betty Jane Camp (“Camp” from Ancestry.com and may not be accurate). Betty Jane passed away September 14, 1977. William married his second wife on April 21, 1979 and her name was either Keith Ann Allen or Keith Ann Chapman (California Marriage Records as shown by Ancestry.com show both Keith Ann Allen and Keith Ann Chapman married William Friedrick Kieschnick on April 21, 1979).
William Frederick Kieschnick Junior passed away on October 13, 2013 and was survived by his third wife Carol Kieschnick, son Michael and daughter Meredith, his stepson David, and two stepdaughters Cynthia and Lynn (San Francisco Chronicle).
Sources for this article are:
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/23/local/la-me-0824-william-kieschnick-20130824
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?pid=167593427
and the Napa Valley Register.
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