William Pryce Yallalee
1913 – 2010
William “Bill” Pryce Yallalee, Major, USAR, Ret., died of natural causes November 17, 2010 in Monterey, California. He was 97 years old.
Bill was born to Allan James Pryce Yallalee and Susan DuPuy Benedict Yallalee in Brooklyn, New York. The family lived in New Jersey, Colorado, and New Mexico, settling in California in the twenties.
Bill attended the New Mexico Military Institute, Pasadena Junior College, and graduated as a mechanical engineer from the University of California, College of Engineering in Berkeley in 1938. Upon graduation Bill secured employment with the Army Corps of Engineers.
While at the New Mexico Military Institute, Bill received a commission in the Cavalry Officer Reserve Corps. He was attached, briefly, to the 11th Cavalry Regiment at the Presidio of Monterey. In March 1941, he was furloughed from the Corps of Engineers, becoming a second lieutenant in the First Cavalry Regiment (Light) at Fort Knox.
The chain of events following December 7, 1941 led to the First Cavalry Regiment becoming the First Armored Division and Bill’s passage to Oran, Algeria by way of Ireland. He was among the first to recognize that a dust cloud to the east was not a Saharan sand storm but Rommel’s Africa Corps moving toward Kasserine Pass.
Rotating back to the states in 1944, Bill married Catherine (Katy) Lenore Fuller of Huntington, West Virginia, whom he met because his cousin married Catherine’s oldest brother. Their marriage lasted 65 years, until Katy’s death in 2009. After being released in 1946 from active duty at his last posting at Ft. Ord, Bill returned to the Army Corps of Engineers, retiring in 1971.
He spent most of his career in the Sacramento office, transferring to Santa Rosa in the late sixties. Bill was involved in the design of Folsom Dam, and designed machinery that was used in building the dam. Bill enjoyed the mechanical part of engineering, and all his life was curious about how things were made.
A hobby project of many years was the design and construction of a steam engine for a boat. To build the engine Bill learned the lost wax process of casting, and used parts from a downed Messerschmitt that he had mailed to Katy from Africa, calling them “souvenirs” on the package label.
For many years Bill and Katy took the boat to steam meets up and down the West Coast, and through writing for steam publications Bill became friends with other steam enthusiasts throughout the states and in Australia.
Other passions included bicycling, music, and history. He was an amateur artist, using pen and ink, water colors, and pastels. He played the accordion and piano, learning music by ear, and would frequently break into a song to meet the need of the occasion.
Bill and Katy moved to Monterey in 1999, living where they could hear reveille and taps from the Presidio. The Sunday evening dinners and conversations that started with “Well, what world problem shall we solve tonight?” will be greatly missed. To the end of his life Bill maintained his independent style of thinking and living, supported by tender caregivers.
He was survived by his three children: Anne (Timothy) Wheelis of Pacific Grove, Jeanne (Gerald) Ingalls of Oregon, and Bill (Dianne) Yallalee of Texas; grand children Jessica and Brenna Wheelis of California, Jennifer Ingalls-Hill of Oregon, Julia Ingalls of Colorado, Christopher Yallalee and Sarah Shafer of Texas, seven great grandchildren, and several cousins. At Bill’s request there was no service. Those wishing to make memorial contributions may send them to the Central Coast Veteran’s Cemetery Foundation, P.O. Box 849, Marina, CA 93933.
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