William Alvin Wineberg
August 31, 1936 –July 28, 2017
William is survived by his wife of 33 years, Nora, and children Kenneth, Kevin, Michael (Pamela), John (Karen) and Patricia (Joseph).
Born in Evanston, IL, Bill grew up on the north shore of Chicago and attended Saints Faith, Hope and Charity and New Trier High School, where he played baseball and football, two of his great loves. He attended Stanford University on a naval ROTC scholarship, and was a member of Theta Xi. After graduating in 1958 with a B.S. in economics, he served 3 years as an officer on a destroyer escort stationed in Pearl Harbor, HI. Following service, Bill attended the University of Chicago Law School where he was editor-in-chief of the law review.
After law school, Bill practiced at Mayer, Brown & Platt in Chicago until 1972 when, after watching Stanford beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on a warm, sunny January day, Bill packed up his family and returned to San Francisco to practice with the firms of Broad, Khourie & Schulz, followed by Broad, Schulz, Larson & Wineberg, Wineberg, Simmonds & Narita and then a solo practice. He specialized in complex litigation, primarily antitrust and securities, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Though he represented many large corporations, Bill found most rewarding the cases in which he represented individuals and small businesses. He also was very proud of the work he did for public entities, including the City of Oakland in Raiders’ litigation and the California Milk Advisory Board. He relished being in a courtroom with a smart, tough judge and a challenging opponent. He loved juries and they loved him - even when they went against him.
Being a lawyer, though, did not define Bill. He loved family and friends, the Giants and 49ers, Stanford and Stanford sports, politics, travel and an adult beverage, preferably Tanqueray. He enjoyed equally seared foie gras with a good sauterne and a sandwich on Wonder with mayo and a glass of milk.
He was whip smart and in retirement studied physics, philosophy and modern and ancient China while continuing to avidly follow sports and politics and to spend more time on Stanford activities. He enjoyed passing along his love of sports, specifically the Giants, Stanford football and the 49ers, to his children and then grandchildren. Spring training was a ritual and at 65 he started attending the Giants Fantasy Camp where he not only was able to once again play the game he loved, but met a wide circle of new and very dear friends.
Additional survivors include grandchildren Nicholas, Christopher, Troy, Dylan, Shelby, Tommy, Patrick and William, sisters Mary Carroll Scott and Elisabeth and Ellin Wineberg, nephew Patrick Scott, niece Elizabeth Carmichael and former wife Mary D. Wineberg.
A service will be held on Friday, August 4 at 11:30 a.m at The University Club, 800 Powell St., San Francisco, CA 94108.
Bill was the very grateful recipient of a kidney transplant donated by his sister, Ellin. Her gift gave Bill many healthy and rich extra years for which she can never be repaid. The family encourages memorial contributions be made to the CPMC Foundation, Kidney Transplant, P.O. Box 7999, San Francisco, CA 94120 or to the Stanford Buck Club, Stanford University, Dept of Athletics, 641 E. Campus Dr., Stanford, CA 94305.
Lastly, Nora and the children would like to thank the nurses and doctors who treated Bill for his kidney and related issues over the last 15 years, and specifically Drs. Steven Blumlein, John Riordan, John B. Long, Brian Parrett, Steven Katznelson and all of CPMC’s kidney transplant team.