Carl A. Breitinger, 71, photojournalist

Carl A. Breitinger was up among some trees on one of his more memorable assignments as a photographer for the Philadelphia Bulletin.

During the 1979 visit of Pope John Paul II, "Carl and I shared a tree platform" on Logan Circle, where the pontiff celebrated Mass before an audience of hundreds of thousands, his friend Jon Falk said in a phone interview.

Platforms had been built in the trees surrounding the event, Falk said, and he and Mr. Breitinger were both there, competing for the best shot though they were both Bulletin photographers.

Something well worth remembering, Falk said.

On Tuesday, Sept. 9, Mr. Breitinger, 71, of Big Island, Va., a former photographer, in succession, for the Courier-Post, the Bulletin, and The Inquirer, died of leukemia at Lynchburg (Va.) General Hospital.

David M Warren, a staff photographer for The Inquirer, stated it succinctly:

"Carl Breitinger was a great friend, a solid photographer, and the most ethical journalist I have encountered during my career."

Born in Clinton, S.C., Mr. Breitinger graduated in 1961 from Delaware Township High School before it became Cherry Hill West High School and studied at Rutgers-Camden.

Mr. Breitinger began at the Courier-Post in 1961, with "some years in the circulation department and in advertising," his wife, Carol Anne, said.

After graduating from the Antonelli School of Photography in Philadelphia in the early 1970s, she said, Mr. Breitinger became a Courier-Post photographer in 1973.

A resident of Merchantville from 1974 to 1994, he became a New Jersey staff photographer for the Bulletin from 1977 until it closed in 1982 and a New Jersey contract photographer for The Inquirer from 1982 until he retired in 1994.

Falk worked with him as director of photography at the Bulletin from 1977 to 1981 and against him as a Daily News photo editor until retiring in 2001.

"He frequently won awards for his photojournalism; that was just a given," Falk said.

"Carl was very quick, always at the forefront of what was going on."

On a story in which rival photographers were competing for the best shot, "his turf was his turf. You didn't get in there and beat him," Falk recalled.

The two men met when Falk was a photographer for the Burlington County Times in the 1970s and most recently he spent time with Mr. Breitinger in the Lynchburg Hospital, two days before he died.

"He was just easy to be around," Falk said.

In Big Island, Mr. Breitinger was a charter member of Bedford Elks Lodge 2844, for which he was a trustee since 2010 and which named him Officer of the Year in 2012.

In 2009, his wife said, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks gave him its outstanding service commendation.

Besides his wife of 40 years, Mr. Breitinger is survived by a brother.

A visitation was set from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Updike Funeral Home, 1140 W. Lynchburg Salem Tpk., Bedford, Va. with a funeral at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 15, at Sedalia Baptist Church, 1072 Charlemont Rd., Big Island, Va. 24526.

A graveside service was set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at Colestown Cemetery, 100 Kings Hwy. N., Cherry Hill.

Donations may be sent to the church at the above address.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.updikefuneralhome.com.

610-313-8134 @WNaedele