Robert C. ("Bob") Pellman was born on 03 October, 1924 in San Diego, California. He attended Florence Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School, and graduated from San Diego High School in June, 1942.
His first part-time job was cleaning parts at his father's automotive repair shop, Johnny's Garage, in 1936. After Johnny's Garage lost its lease, he went to work as a machinist at at the P.W. Gavin Company after school, and operating the stage lights at the Hollywood Theatre (a burlesque house) at 415 Front Street in San Diego, even though he was not old enough to purchase a ticket to watch the shows. He worked two shows per night, Monday through Friday, and four shows on Saturdays. In 1941 he converted his father's 1938 Graham to run on propane, so the family could trade its gasoline rations for food rations.
In February, 1943 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and did his basic training at MCRD, San Diego. Upon completion of basic training, Pvt. Pellman was assigned to the mechanics corps, and stationed at Sand Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, where he performed maintenance and repair of Marine Corps vehicles from 1943 to 1945. In April 1945 he was transferred to a combat battalion in preparation for the invasion of mainland Japan. That July he boarded a troop ship bound for Japan, but Japan surrendered on 15 August as the invasion fleet was gathering. The formal surrender took place on 02 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri. A month later, Bob was stationed in Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan, where he witnessed firsthand the destruction and human toll of the atomic bomb. Although Bob maintained a lifelong hatred of the military regime that led Japan into World War II, he grew to love the Japanese civilian population and Japanese culture.
Bob returned stateside in mid-1946 and was honourably discharged from the US Marine Corps at the rank of Corporal on 27 July 1946. In October 1946, he went to work for J.G. Wood & Son, performing guniting, sandblasting, and plastering. On weekends he used his GI Bill benefits to take flying lessons at Peik's (aka Pike's) Field and earned his pilot's license. Around 1950 he started a sideline business flying wealthy big game hunters into remove areas of Canada and Mexico and leading hunting parties by pack mule.
In 1955 Bob and a partner purchased the San Diego Flight Academy and took over the lease at Peik's Field. In 1957, Bob and his partner performed all of the stunt flying for the movie, Tarnished Angels, starring Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, and Robert Wilke. Much of the movie was filmed at Peik's Field using painted backdrops to disguise its location. The movie was released on 21 November 1957. The following year, the city of San Diego cancelled the Peik's Field lease in order to expand Mission Bay and create Fiesta Island where the airport once stood.
Bob briefly went back into the gunite business, mostly designing and building in-ground swimming pools. His largest contract was guniting the roof of the United Methodist Church at 2111 Camino del Rio South in Mission Valley, a feat his competitors considered impossible. Around 1960, Bob acquired a 15% interest in Seaforth Sportfishing Corporation, which operated out of Seaforth Landing in Quivira Basin. His primary responsibility was maintenance and repair of the company's fleet of sportfishing and charter boats. In 1970, Bob, his brother, and Dave Stout formed Aqua Garners Inc., a corporation that owned a commercial tuna fishing boat, Excalibur. After ten years of operation, Excalibur struck a partially submerged log 60 miles west of Morro Bay in the Pacific Ocean and had to be scuttled by the US Coast Guard. After a two year court battle to receive the insurance settlement, the company was dissolved in 1982. Bob remained active in the daily operations of Seaforth Sportfishing until he sold his interest in the late '90s.
His hobbies included raising exotic birds, building homemade computers, and helping neighbourhood teens repair and customise their cars in the automotive workshop in his garage. For most of his adult life his home in the Clairemont neighbourhood was a safe haven, playground, and mentoring centre for the children (and many adults) in the area. He never married, nor had children, but there were many who considered Bob their second father.
He died at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego on 10 September 2020, following a stroke and a fall in his home, after living a long, fruitful, and fulfilling life.
His first part-time job was cleaning parts at his father's automotive repair shop, Johnny's Garage, in 1936. After Johnny's Garage lost its lease, he went to work as a machinist at at the P.W. Gavin Company after school, and operating the stage lights at the Hollywood Theatre (a burlesque house) at 415 Front Street in San Diego, even though he was not old enough to purchase a ticket to watch the shows. He worked two shows per night, Monday through Friday, and four shows on Saturdays. In 1941 he converted his father's 1938 Graham to run on propane, so the family could trade its gasoline rations for food rations.
In February, 1943 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and did his basic training at MCRD, San Diego. Upon completion of basic training, Pvt. Pellman was assigned to the mechanics corps, and stationed at Sand Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, where he performed maintenance and repair of Marine Corps vehicles from 1943 to 1945. In April 1945 he was transferred to a combat battalion in preparation for the invasion of mainland Japan. That July he boarded a troop ship bound for Japan, but Japan surrendered on 15 August as the invasion fleet was gathering. The formal surrender took place on 02 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri. A month later, Bob was stationed in Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan, where he witnessed firsthand the destruction and human toll of the atomic bomb. Although Bob maintained a lifelong hatred of the military regime that led Japan into World War II, he grew to love the Japanese civilian population and Japanese culture.
Bob returned stateside in mid-1946 and was honourably discharged from the US Marine Corps at the rank of Corporal on 27 July 1946. In October 1946, he went to work for J.G. Wood & Son, performing guniting, sandblasting, and plastering. On weekends he used his GI Bill benefits to take flying lessons at Peik's (aka Pike's) Field and earned his pilot's license. Around 1950 he started a sideline business flying wealthy big game hunters into remove areas of Canada and Mexico and leading hunting parties by pack mule.
In 1955 Bob and a partner purchased the San Diego Flight Academy and took over the lease at Peik's Field. In 1957, Bob and his partner performed all of the stunt flying for the movie, Tarnished Angels, starring Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, and Robert Wilke. Much of the movie was filmed at Peik's Field using painted backdrops to disguise its location. The movie was released on 21 November 1957. The following year, the city of San Diego cancelled the Peik's Field lease in order to expand Mission Bay and create Fiesta Island where the airport once stood.
Bob briefly went back into the gunite business, mostly designing and building in-ground swimming pools. His largest contract was guniting the roof of the United Methodist Church at 2111 Camino del Rio South in Mission Valley, a feat his competitors considered impossible. Around 1960, Bob acquired a 15% interest in Seaforth Sportfishing Corporation, which operated out of Seaforth Landing in Quivira Basin. His primary responsibility was maintenance and repair of the company's fleet of sportfishing and charter boats. In 1970, Bob, his brother, and Dave Stout formed Aqua Garners Inc., a corporation that owned a commercial tuna fishing boat, Excalibur. After ten years of operation, Excalibur struck a partially submerged log 60 miles west of Morro Bay in the Pacific Ocean and had to be scuttled by the US Coast Guard. After a two year court battle to receive the insurance settlement, the company was dissolved in 1982. Bob remained active in the daily operations of Seaforth Sportfishing until he sold his interest in the late '90s.
His hobbies included raising exotic birds, building homemade computers, and helping neighbourhood teens repair and customise their cars in the automotive workshop in his garage. For most of his adult life his home in the Clairemont neighbourhood was a safe haven, playground, and mentoring centre for the children (and many adults) in the area. He never married, nor had children, but there were many who considered Bob their second father.
He died at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego on 10 September 2020, following a stroke and a fall in his home, after living a long, fruitful, and fulfilling life.
Robert C. ("Bob") Pellman was born on 03 October, 1924 in San Diego, California. He attended Florence Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School, and graduated from San Diego High School in June, 1942.
His first part-time job was cleaning parts at his father's automotive repair shop, Johnny's Garage, in 1936. After Johnny's Garage lost its lease, he went to work as a machinist at at the P.W. Gavin Company after school, and operating the stage lights at the Hollywood Theatre (a burlesque house) at 415 Front Street in San Diego, even though he was not old enough to purchase a ticket to watch the shows. He worked two shows per night, Monday through Friday, and four shows on Saturdays. In 1941 he converted his father's 1938 Graham to run on propane, so the family could trade its gasoline rations for food rations.
In February, 1943 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and did his basic training at MCRD, San Diego. Upon completion of basic training, Pvt. Pellman was assigned to the mechanics corps, and stationed at Sand Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, where he performed maintenance and repair of Marine Corps vehicles from 1943 to 1945. In April 1945 he was transferred to a combat battalion in preparation for the invasion of mainland Japan. That July he boarded a troop ship bound for Japan, but Japan surrendered on 15 August as the invasion fleet was gathering. The formal surrender took place on 02 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri. A month later, Bob was stationed in Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan, where he witnessed firsthand the destruction and human toll of the atomic bomb. Although Bob maintained a lifelong hatred of the military regime that led Japan into World War II, he grew to love the Japanese civilian population and Japanese culture.
Bob returned stateside in mid-1946 and was honourably discharged from the US Marine Corps at the rank of Corporal on 27 July 1946. In October 1946, he went to work for J.G. Wood & Son, performing guniting, sandblasting, and plastering. On weekends he used his GI Bill benefits to take flying lessons at Peik's (aka Pike's) Field and earned his pilot's license. Around 1950 he started a sideline business flying wealthy big game hunters into remove areas of Canada and Mexico and leading hunting parties by pack mule.
In 1955 Bob and a partner purchased the San Diego Flight Academy and took over the lease at Peik's Field. In 1957, Bob and his partner performed all of the stunt flying for the movie, Tarnished Angels, starring Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, and Robert Wilke. Much of the movie was filmed at Peik's Field using painted backdrops to disguise its location. The movie was released on 21 November 1957. The following year, the city of San Diego cancelled the Peik's Field lease in order to expand Mission Bay and create Fiesta Island where the airport once stood.
Bob briefly went back into the gunite business, mostly designing and building in-ground swimming pools. His largest contract was guniting the roof of the United Methodist Church at 2111 Camino del Rio South in Mission Valley, a feat his competitors considered impossible. Around 1960, Bob acquired a 15% interest in Seaforth Sportfishing Corporation, which operated out of Seaforth Landing in Quivira Basin. His primary responsibility was maintenance and repair of the company's fleet of sportfishing and charter boats. In 1970, Bob, his brother, and Dave Stout formed Aqua Garners Inc., a corporation that owned a commercial tuna fishing boat, Excalibur. After ten years of operation, Excalibur struck a partially submerged log 60 miles west of Morro Bay in the Pacific Ocean and had to be scuttled by the US Coast Guard. After a two year court battle to receive the insurance settlement, the company was dissolved in 1982. Bob remained active in the daily operations of Seaforth Sportfishing until he sold his interest in the late '90s.
His hobbies included raising exotic birds, building homemade computers, and helping neighbourhood teens repair and customise their cars in the automotive workshop in his garage. For most of his adult life his home in the Clairemont neighbourhood was a safe haven, playground, and mentoring centre for the children (and many adults) in the area. He never married, nor had children, but there were many who considered Bob their second father.
He died at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego on 10 September 2020, following a stroke and a fall in his home, after living a long, fruitful, and fulfilling life.
His first part-time job was cleaning parts at his father's automotive repair shop, Johnny's Garage, in 1936. After Johnny's Garage lost its lease, he went to work as a machinist at at the P.W. Gavin Company after school, and operating the stage lights at the Hollywood Theatre (a burlesque house) at 415 Front Street in San Diego, even though he was not old enough to purchase a ticket to watch the shows. He worked two shows per night, Monday through Friday, and four shows on Saturdays. In 1941 he converted his father's 1938 Graham to run on propane, so the family could trade its gasoline rations for food rations.
In February, 1943 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and did his basic training at MCRD, San Diego. Upon completion of basic training, Pvt. Pellman was assigned to the mechanics corps, and stationed at Sand Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, where he performed maintenance and repair of Marine Corps vehicles from 1943 to 1945. In April 1945 he was transferred to a combat battalion in preparation for the invasion of mainland Japan. That July he boarded a troop ship bound for Japan, but Japan surrendered on 15 August as the invasion fleet was gathering. The formal surrender took place on 02 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri. A month later, Bob was stationed in Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan, where he witnessed firsthand the destruction and human toll of the atomic bomb. Although Bob maintained a lifelong hatred of the military regime that led Japan into World War II, he grew to love the Japanese civilian population and Japanese culture.
Bob returned stateside in mid-1946 and was honourably discharged from the US Marine Corps at the rank of Corporal on 27 July 1946. In October 1946, he went to work for J.G. Wood & Son, performing guniting, sandblasting, and plastering. On weekends he used his GI Bill benefits to take flying lessons at Peik's (aka Pike's) Field and earned his pilot's license. Around 1950 he started a sideline business flying wealthy big game hunters into remove areas of Canada and Mexico and leading hunting parties by pack mule.
In 1955 Bob and a partner purchased the San Diego Flight Academy and took over the lease at Peik's Field. In 1957, Bob and his partner performed all of the stunt flying for the movie, Tarnished Angels, starring Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, and Robert Wilke. Much of the movie was filmed at Peik's Field using painted backdrops to disguise its location. The movie was released on 21 November 1957. The following year, the city of San Diego cancelled the Peik's Field lease in order to expand Mission Bay and create Fiesta Island where the airport once stood.
Bob briefly went back into the gunite business, mostly designing and building in-ground swimming pools. His largest contract was guniting the roof of the United Methodist Church at 2111 Camino del Rio South in Mission Valley, a feat his competitors considered impossible. Around 1960, Bob acquired a 15% interest in Seaforth Sportfishing Corporation, which operated out of Seaforth Landing in Quivira Basin. His primary responsibility was maintenance and repair of the company's fleet of sportfishing and charter boats. In 1970, Bob, his brother, and Dave Stout formed Aqua Garners Inc., a corporation that owned a commercial tuna fishing boat, Excalibur. After ten years of operation, Excalibur struck a partially submerged log 60 miles west of Morro Bay in the Pacific Ocean and had to be scuttled by the US Coast Guard. After a two year court battle to receive the insurance settlement, the company was dissolved in 1982. Bob remained active in the daily operations of Seaforth Sportfishing until he sold his interest in the late '90s.
His hobbies included raising exotic birds, building homemade computers, and helping neighbourhood teens repair and customise their cars in the automotive workshop in his garage. For most of his adult life his home in the Clairemont neighbourhood was a safe haven, playground, and mentoring centre for the children (and many adults) in the area. He never married, nor had children, but there were many who considered Bob their second father.
He died at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego on 10 September 2020, following a stroke and a fall in his home, after living a long, fruitful, and fulfilling life.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
