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Visionary Photographer Saw Potential In Schools

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By Jo-Ann Johnston, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 8, 2007

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TAMPA - When Bill Stoeltzing came to town in 1949, he was just 23 years old and trying to advance in the portrait-photography business.

By the time he retired at 75, his company, Bryn-Alan Studios, had shot school portraits for thousands of families across Florida, and Stoeltzing was a fixture in Tampa.

Bill Stoeltzing

Stoeltzing died Sunday. He was 81.

In the postwar years, when he went to work for Bryn-Alan as a photographer, Stoeltzing saw untapped promise in the school market. So he persuaded the company's owners to focus on child portraits, said son-in-law Harvey Parido, now president of the family-run company. That brought Bryn-Alan to a new level.

Then came advances in color photography, which Stoeltzing embraced. Over time, he bought out his partners and ran the company with his wife, Elvira.

Bryn-Alan thrived under Stoeltzing. Today, the company employs 350 people during its peak season and operates in Florida, Texas, South Carolina and Georgia, Parido said.

"It was his drive, his motivation," Parido said. "He was an extremely hard worker."

As his business took off, Stoeltzing became involved in charity and civic efforts, joining the University of Tampa's Board of Fellows and the Krewe of Sant' Yago.

He also invested in properties along West Kennedy Boulevard. It had been a busy area but declined in the 1970s before eventually rebounding, said Paul Hoffstetter, a friend and real estate leasing agent.

Stoeltzing kept his business in the neighborhood through the iffy times, bought neighboring properties and restored some. The most illustrious example is Grand Central Place, 442 W. Kennedy Blvd., which houses Mise en Place, one of Tampa's finer restaurants, an art gallery and offices.

A memorial service for Stoeltzing is planned for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Tampa, 302 W. Kennedy Blvd.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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