This is my last photo of Bill, with my wife Brenda and me. It was taken shortly before he died ~25 years ago. Apparently big dark glasses and scraggly moustaches were in then.
I became friends with Bill shortly after I moved to Piedmont in the fourth grade. He lived 5 houses down the hill, Steve Samuels lived 3 houses up the hill, and the three us shared a unique bond throughout high school even as our activities and interests began diverging. Bill’s loves were cars and boats – which I never had any interest in – and girls. They loved him, and he was always trying to get his latest girlfriend to get a date for me by telling her that I was going to grow. Unfortunately that never worked. But then Bill met Barbie, who he adored and married, and his loves became cars, boats, and family. Bill and Barbie had two children: Blake is married, has a 5-year old daughter, and is an accountant in Martinez, and Courtney, who is married and works in finance in Boston.
Bill was born with heart problems, and died from a heart attack when he was only 43 years old. Barbie eventually remarried and is now Barbara Picard. She worked for the University of California’s Office of the President for decades and last year she was asked to come out of retirement to help with the installation of the new UC President. She still lives in the home in Montclair that she and Bill bought ~ 4 decades ago.
Bill and I remained close friends throughout his life. We routinely connected whenever he sailed down to Santa Cruz or I went up to the Bay Area. When talking with my mother about Bill yesterday, she reminded me that he probably ate breakfast at our house more often than I did and that he was usually in a much better mood than I was. Anyway, he was always there to cheer me up through teenage angst, and stayed a great friend after that. I miss him every day.
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Russ Flegal
I became friends with Bill shortly after I moved to Piedmont in the fourth grade. He lived 5 houses down the hill, Steve Samuels lived 3 houses up the hill, and the three us shared a unique bond throughout high school even as our activities and interests began diverging. Bill’s loves were cars and boats – which I never had any interest in – and girls. They loved him, and he was always trying to get his latest girlfriend to get a date for me by telling her that I was going to grow. Unfortunately that never worked. But then Bill met Barbie, who he adored and married, and his loves became cars, boats, and family. Bill and Barbie had two children: Blake is married, has a 5-year old daughter, and is an accountant in Martinez, and Courtney, who is married and works in finance in Boston.
Bill was born with heart problems, and died from a heart attack when he was only 43 years old. Barbie eventually remarried and is now Barbara Picard. She worked for the University of California’s Office of the President for decades and last year she was asked to come out of retirement to help with the installation of the new UC President. She still lives in the home in Montclair that she and Bill bought ~ 4 decades ago.
Bill and I remained close friends throughout his life. We routinely connected whenever he sailed down to Santa Cruz or I went up to the Bay Area. When talking with my mother about Bill yesterday, she reminded me that he probably ate breakfast at our house more often than I did and that he was usually in a much better mood than I was. Anyway, he was always there to cheer me up through teenage angst, and stayed a great friend after that. I miss him every day.