Bill grew up in York and Lincoln, NE. He graduated from Lincoln Southeast High School and attended the University of Nebraska Lincoln for two years, where he played flute and piccolo in the UNL Marching Band. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1964.
Bill briefly studied law at UNL before attending Officer Candidate School, graduating as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1967. He served in Korea until his discharge with the rank of first lieutenant in 1969.
Bill then settled in San Francisco and later Oakland. He worked for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in both cities until his retirement in 2003. He returned to Lincoln in 2021.
Bill was an avid photographer. From 1969 to 1979 he devoted himself to capturing images of San Francisco and environs. As a result, he was selected for a grant-funded history project called “San Francisco Neighborhoods.” The subjects of his photography ranged from city officials to the homeless and whatever street scenes struck his fancy.
He was also an avid amateur magician, walker, hiker, cyclist, and world traveler, always carrying his camera with him. He traveled to all the continents except Australia and Antarctica and to most of the United States, including Hawaii.
Preceded in death by his parents, Bill leaves behind a sister, Janet Carlson, Lincoln, NE., and nephew, Joe Wetherell, Sarasota, FL, as well as many lifelong friends.
We will all miss this smart and sociable guy and his whimsical sense of humor. R.I.P., dear friend.
Some of Bill’s works will be on display at his Celebration of Life, 2 p.m. Sunday, September 25, at WallSpace Lnk Fine Art Gallery & Salon, 17th & Sumner Streets, Lincoln. The gallery will be open to the public from 4 to 6 p.m. that day.
Memorial gifts may be directed to the Sierra Club, the Lewy Body Dementia Association, or The Eastmont Foundation, 6315 O St., Lincoln, NE 68510, for charity care at The Monarch hospice facility.