William Schofield, III August 13, 1948 - February 8, 2024 Resident of Moraga
William (Bill/Speedo) Schofield III, passed away peacefully at his home in Moraga on February 8, 2024, after a brief, but courageous battle, with esophageal cancer. He was surrounded by his wife of 52 years, Carol, his children & daughters in-law. Bill is survived by his wife, Carol; sister, Janis; four kids, Billy (Emily), Chris (Emily), Michael (Madeline), Nicole and seven grandchildren.
Bill was born in Newark, New Jersey on August 13, 1948, and lived most of his early childhood years in Keyser, West Virginia. After a brief stop in St. Louis, MO his family settled in Covina, California when he was 13. While attending Covina High School, Bill starred on the varsity baseball team. He also was a four-year member of the cross-country varsity team, where he was named captain. He served as junior class President and then as a senior, student body Vice President and Editor of the yearbook.
It was at Covina High School where he met Carol Sippola. They started dating as seniors in high school and were inseparable. They stayed together after high school when Bill entered the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut for a summer program where he was elected class president by his peers. They then reunited at Mount San Antonio Junior College the following year and then at U.C. Berkeley where Bill pitched for the Golden Bears in 1969 and 1970. At Cal, he was recipient of the prestigious Wheeler Scholarship, awarded for both academics and athletics, and he graduated with a degree in Political Science.
Once Carol received her teaching credential, they married in 1971 and moved to San Francisco. From 1971-74 Bill attended UC Hastings College of Law and served as a member of the law review. Upon passing the bar he began his law career as a civil litigator at Crosby, Heafey, Roach and May, where he would spend the next 23 years of his career. He ultimately became a partner and practiced law there until 2004. The camaraderie at that firm was unique and he made numerous lifelong friends that carried on with the family until his end. After Crosby he joined the San Francisco office of Paul Hastings as a litigator and served as Of Counsel from 1997-2007 and then at Pinnacle Law Group.
Despite the enormous time demands his law practice required, he always found time for his kids. The family started in Oakland and then moved to Moraga in 1986 to their house on Donald Drive where he ultimately passed. He was a constant presence as a coach on many of their baseball and basketball teams. Baseball was his true sports love. He coached in North Oakland Little League and then in Moraga Baseball Association with the Moraga Ponies for six seasons. Each son and many of their teammates will remember him as their best coach ever.
His other favorite place was playing cards with family and friends. Late night games of poker and hearts were commonplace on Donald Drive, and he had longstanding poker games in Moraga where he played once a month prior to his death.
Bill loved to travel the country by train. He and Carol took many trips together, including from Los Angeles to New York, from Vancouver across Canada to Montreal, and several trips up and down the coast of the Northwest.
Bill was a passionate and often frustrated Cal sports fan, having football & basketball season tickets for roughly 50 years. Tailgating at Cal football games was an annual family tradition, and he and Carol took numerous road trips to follow the Bears, including the Citrus Bowl, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Michigan, and many others. One of his highlights was storming the field in the 1982 Big Game after Cal beat Stanford 25-20 in a game that would forever be known as “The Play.”
Bill will be deeply missed by his family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please send any memorial contributions to Hospice of East Bay (www.hospiceeastbay.org) or a charity of your choice.