Oct 28, 1927 - Nov 6, 1997

William “Bill” Birkel, 71, a former Palo Alto resident, died on Nov. 6 at his home in Saratoga, CA. 

He was born in Anaheim and raised in the citrus country of Southern California. He attended Pomona College for one year and then entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he graduated in 1950. He served aboard the USS Blue and USS Juneau during the Korean War. He graduated from Stanford Business School in 1956 and remained in the Palo Alto area until he retired to Saratoga. 

For 42 years Equitable Life Assurance Society was his primary business association. He was an active member of several organizations such as the First Church of Christ Scientist of Boston, and he was a member, and later the president, of the Santa Clara County Chartered Life Underwriters (CLU) as well as the Equitable Hall of Fame. He ran his own business, Group Personnel Associates, for many years. He was a sports enthusiast and officiated SCVAL football. He also was a member of the Palo Alto Tennis Club. 

He is survived by his wife, Patricia Birkel of Saratoga; a son, Douglas Birkel of Los Angeles; four daughters, Julie Chaikovsky of Manhattan Beach, Calif., Lindy Hopkins of Santa Fe, N.M., Pam Birkel of Portland, Ore., and Laurie McCaskill of Eugene, Ore.; and two grandchildren. Services have been held.