Helmut Tutass

Helmut Tutass was born in 1958 in St. Louis. When he was 5, his father was accepted into a Ph.D. program at UC Davis. He says his family loaded up the VW bug with the family of five and headed west. After his father graduated with his doctorate in 1967, they moved to El Cerrito. There he has remained, attending local schools and living in the area for over 50 years. He attended St. John’s Elementary in El Cerrito, Salesian High School in Richmond, Contra Costa College in San Pablo, San Jose State, and Cal Berkeley. He received an A.S. Biotechnology degree from Contra Costa College and a professional certificate from the CCC Coastal School of Commercial Diving.

His passion when young was boating of any type. He took his first organized sailing class at John Berry Sailing School at Berkeley’s Aquatic Park. when he was seven. Twenty years later he owned and operated a commercial diving and yacht maintenance business. Seawolf Marine. In the marine business, he also managed the Bayship and Yacht, as well as the Olympic Circle Sailing Club, and was Harbor Master of the Emeryville Marina. He is a Licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain.

Helmut has owned and managed Berkeley Pest Control for the last 25 years with various Berkeley Rotarians and many others as clients, and is active in the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. His community service has included serving as an elected member of the Boards of Directors at St. John’s Elementary School and the El Cerrito Youth Baseball program. His willingness to serve has already been evidenced by his many weeks of working on the setup crew for our club meetings even before his membership induction.

He has two adult children, Jennifer and Don Miguel. He and his wife Mary have been married for 37 years. Mary holds a doctorate in Education and is a consultant. Helmut’s hobbies include boating, hiking, diving, crabbing, spending time with his dogs, traveling, and being in the outdoors.

His community service has included service as an elected member of the Board of Directors at St. John’s Elementary School and the El Cerrito Youth Baseball program. His willingness to do service has already been evidenced by his many weeks of working on the setup crew for club meetings even before his membership induction.