William J. Cullerton Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth and Family

Cullerton died at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, on January 12, 2013, at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife, Elaine, three daughters and two sons. A longtime resident of Oak Brook, Illinois, Cullerton and his wife also owned a second home in Marco Island, Florida. He lived in Warrenville, Illinois, in 2000.

On May 9, 2000, the Illinois Beach State Park and North Point Marina in Zion, Illinois, was dedicated as the William J. Cullerton Complex in recognition of his conservation efforts. The ceremony, which was attended by then-Governor George Ryan and Illinois First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan, included a flyover by two P-51 Mustang planes. The William J. Cullerton Complex includes the 4,160-acre Illinois State Park and the North Point Marina on Lake Michigan, which is capable of holding approximately 1,500 boats.

Cullerton hosted a popular Chicago Saturday morning show radio show called “Great Outdoors” on WGN Radio for twenty years before his retirement in December 1999. Charlie Potter succeeded Cullerton as host of “Great Outdoors,” which still airs on WGN as of 2013.

Cullerton founded the Cullerton Co., in the 1950s. The company represents manufacturers of outdoor and fishing products Bill Cullerton is considered to be an early pioneer of the fishing travel industry. He also supported the growth of outdoor shows.

On April 8, 1945, Cullerton was shot down strafing the airfield at Ansbach, Germany near the end of the war, crashing on a hillside near German forces. Cullerton was found and shot in the stomach by a German stormtrooper using his own gun. Cullerton described the attack in an interview years later, “They had a short meeting, and the guy came back to me, holding my gun in his hand, and he said to me, ‘For you, the ‘war’ is over’ — and he shot me in the belly.”

Cullerton, a flying ace, destroyed twenty-one Luftwaffe planes during the war. He shot down five German fighters during aerial dogfights. Cullerton also destroyed sixteen planes on the ground in strafing attacks, ranking him as the second highest strafing ace in the 355th Fighter Group.

William J. “Bill” Cullerton Sr. (June 2, 1923 – January 12, 2013) was an American World War II flying ace, entrepreneur, radio show host, and outdoorsman. Cullerton destroyed twenty-one Axis planes during the war, including sixteen destroyed in low-altitude attacks on the ground, ranking him as the second highest strafing ace in the 355th Fighter Group. He was the last surviving ace of the 355th Fighter Group (“Dragon Squadron”), which flew missions out of Steeple Morden, England, during World War II.

Cullerton was born in Chicago and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, graduated from Fenwick High School. His grandfather, Bill Jamison, owned a firm which still manufactures collectible fishing lures today. Cullerton worked for his grandfather as a teenager. He was a relative of several Chicago area political figures, including Edward “Foxy” Cullerton (first elected to the Chicago City Council in 1871); his cousin, the current President of the Illinois Senate John Cullerton; and Cook County Assessor P.J. “Parky” Cullerton.