William Schofield III

1948 - 2024

William Schofield III
08/13/1948 - 02/08/2024
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; and 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, N.J., on August 13, 1948, and lived most of his early childhood years in Keyser, W.Va. After a brief stop in St. Louis, Mo., his family settled in Covina, Calif., 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, Conn., 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 Calif., he was a 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 U.C. 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 Dr., 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 the 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 Dr., 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 N.Y., from Vancouver across Canada to Montreal, and several trips up and down the coast of the Northwest.
Bill was a passionate and often frustrated Calif. sports fan, having football and basketball season tickets for roughly 50 years. Tailgating at Calif. football games was an annual family tradition, and he and Carol took numerous road trips to follow the Bears, including the Citrus Bowl, Okla., Tenn., Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Mich., and many others. One of his highlights was storming the field in the 1982 Big Game, after Calif. 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.