Bill was born in San Francisco on January 12, 1945, an only child to Ray and Agnes (Bartholomew) Berlin. He grew up in Ventura, California, and attended Villanova Preparatory High School in Ojai where Bill’s love of photography grew after joining the Camera Club.
After graduating from Villanova in 1962, Bill attended St. Mary’s College, but after spending too much time his freshman year taking photos for the yearbook and newspaper instead of studying, he returned home to attend Ventura College. He subsequently transferred to San Francisco State University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Economics with a minor in geology in 1966.
Upon graduating from college, Bill spent a year working on his Masters in Economics at San Francisco State University, and then sought and accepted a teaching position at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton in 1967. During his 12 years at St. Mary’s, Bill taught Business, Math and Science and was the Advisor for the yearbook, The Cauldron. He also forged lifelong connections with many staff and students. Later in life, many students would often recognize him around Stockton, telling him, “Mr. Berlin! You look exactly the same!”
In 1979, Bill left teaching and put his love of yearbooks and his natural charm to good use, becoming a sales representative for Herff Jones Yearbooks. At Herff Jones, he serviced schools from Fremont to Placerville and he earned multiple awards for outstanding achievements in sales. He was one of the top four yearbook salesmen in the country two years in a row. But, for him, the measurement of success was the look of pride from the yearbook advisor and staff members when they admired the finished yearbook. Each year, he would rent a U-Haul truck to personally deliver the yearbooks to them so that he could see their faces. While with Herff Jones, Bill also ran a week-long summer camp for yearbook students for 12 years, called Yearbook West, at UC Santa Cruz.
Though his role as a yearbook rep kept him busy, he never forgot his love of photography. Bill’s dream to open his own photography studio became a reality in 1985 with Flashbacks Photography in Stockton. Throughout the years, Bill opened Flashbacks studios serving Manteca, Sacramento and Antioch, but Stockton remained the flagship. The studios cumulatively employed hundreds of people over the years, including family members and friends, but all became part of the Flashbacks family. In 2014, Bill reimagined Flashbacks as Portraits in the Park with a mobile studio in Stockton, and he closed the brick and mortar location. After nearly 35 years of service, the Class of 2019 marks Flashback’s last senior class photographed.
While successful in career, Bill’s life was also fulfilled through the love of his family, including his wife of over 25 years, Lynda; his two daughters Amanda and Jessica, whom he shared with former wife, Lonna McDaniel; and his grandson Nathan, who shares his grandpa’s love of musical theater, rollercoasters, performing magic tricks and fishing. Over the last several years, Bill enjoyed semi-retirement, spending time with Lynda and their friends; living in Bass Lake, California in a house built on the property his parents bought in 1967; running Flashbacks on location on the weekends in Stockton; and visiting his children and grandson in West Sacramento. A self-proclaimed conspiracy theory buff, Bill realized his dream of visiting Dealey Plaza on the 55th anniversary of the JFK assassination in November 2018.
Bill is survived by his wife, Lynda Berlin; his daughter Amanda (Eric) Ramm; his daughter Jessica Berlin; his step-daughter Morgan (Ric) Bazinet; his step-son Rex (Destri) Heuschkel; and his grandson, Nathan Ramm. He is preceded in death by his father and mother, Ray and Agnes Berlin.
Celebrations of life were held for Bill at both their home in Bass Lake and in Stockton, California.
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