[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15042-15043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   A TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF MR. BILL THURSTON OF VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 9, 2004

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take 
this opportunity to call to my colleagues' attention the recent passing 
of a good friend, an outstanding educator and public servant, and a 
wonderful husband, Bill Thurston of Vallejo, California in my 
congressional district.
  I urge my colleagues to read the article that follows below about Mr. 
Thurston's life, his passion, and his significant contributions to the 
city of Vallejo and the greater Solano County community. Bill was a 
longtime history and political science instructor at Solano Community 
College and a member of its board of trustees. He served on the county 
and state Democratic Central Committees for 22 years, and served eight 
years on the Democratic National Committee.
  He was a friend and supporter to my father for his work in the state 
legislature and he was a mentor to me about the education of children 
and the needs of our community.
  To Bill's wife of over 25 years, Rosemary Thurston, and to all of 
Bill's family I offer my sincere condolences at this time. For the many 
of us who were lucky enough to know Bill and to call him our friend, 
our lives are richer for it and we will always carry a place for him in 
our hearts. May he rest in peace.

             [From the Vallejo Times Herald, July 7, 2004]

           Longtime Vallejo Educator and Activist Dies at 74

                         (By Robert McCockran)

       Bill Thurston, a longtime history teacher, state Democratic 
     Committee leader and Solano Community College trustee died 
     Tuesday. He was 74.
       A family member said Thurston, 74, was having shortness of 
     breath (about, 10:25 a.m.) and had to be rushed to (Kaiser 
     Permanente Medical Center) and collapsed in the hospital.''
       Another family member said Thurston's wife, Rosemary, was 
     distraught and unable to talk about her husband's death.
       ``We can say that he's gone and we can say that he didn't 
     suffer,'' the family friend said, adding that a memorial 
     service will be arranged.
       For 20 years, Thurston taught political science and history 
     at Solano Community College.
       ``I feel very sad, very sad,'' said Pam Keith, a fellow 
     trustee. ``He was just a very special person to me and I'm 
     going to miss him very, very much.''
       ``There will be a lot of people turn out for this guy, 
     whatever the situation is. He's got 500 children, 
     grandchildren, great-grandchildren, (and) great-great-great-
     grandchildren, And he's touched so many lives over the years, 
     one way or another. People that you don't even know about,'' 
     Keith said.
       Another fellow board member, Willie McKnight, called 
     Thurston ``a great educator'' and noted that they were 
     fraternity brothers, having joined Alpha Phi Alpha in 1979.
       McKnight said Thurston loved music, although he didn't play 
     any instrument and, he often spoke at his church. ``He always 
     was willing to speak and was always trying to uplift our 
     black boys and girls.''
       Pelton Stewart, executive director of the Continentals of 
     Omega Boys and Girls Club, said when he first came to Vallejo 
     Thurston took him under his wing and ``told me some pitfalls 
     to avoid politically in our little city.''
       ``He was a real long time dedicated supporter of the Boys 
     and Girls Club. He and his wife were always at our banquets, 
     always supporting. He was just a great man,'' Stewart said.
       ``He gave a lot back to the Vallejo community. He was very 
     proud of his African ancestry and helped with the African 
     American library in Oakland and very proud of the education 
     system here in Solano County.''
       Thurston was born Jan. 15, 1930 in Logtown, Mississippi. As 
     a young child, he once recalled watching police wake a 
     sleeping African-American man at a train station. They kicked 
     him, then shot him in cold blood, Thurston told an 
     interviewer.
       Thurston's family moved to California in 1944, and at age 
     17, he joined the military. He served in Korea, Germany, the 
     Philippines and Okinawa before leaving the service in 1964.
       Thurston earned an AA degree at Solano Community College 
     and a BA at California

[[Page 15043]]

     State University at Hayward. In 1972, he began teaching at 
     Solano Community College.
       ``I never taught a class without dealing with reality,'' he 
     once told a reporter.
       ``In all the U.S. history classes I taught, I always 
     included segments on the failures of Reconstruction after the 
     Civil War and on the struggles of women. I taught the bad 
     things and the good.''
       In January 1985, Thurston was elected vice-chairman of the 
     California Democratic Party.
       He served on the county and state Democratic Central 
     committees for 22 years, retiring in 1994. He also served 
     eight years on the Democratic National Committee.
       In May 1988, Thurston was a delegate for presidential 
     nominee Michael Dukakis.
       But Thurston was not so partisan that he ignored weaknesses 
     of his fellow Democrats. He once referred to Oakland Mayor 
     and former California governor Jerry Brown as a ``flake'' and 
     said he was not overly impressed with former President Bill 
     Clinton.
       Frank Jackson, former president of the Vallejo Chapter 
     NAACP, said of Thurston: ``We go way back. Bill and I were 
     real close friends.''
       Jackson said he served with Thurston on an affirmative 
     action committee at Solano Community College.
       ``The thing I liked about Bill, he was fair and equitable. 
     When something wasn't right, he'd say `this isn't right' or 
     `this is the thing that we're doing,''' Jackson said of his 
     fellow NAACP member.
       ``Any time I would call on him and ask him to do anything 
     he was always willing to help out. And, anytime anybody 
     called me about anything political, I would tell them to call 
     Bill Thurston,'' Jackson said.
       Mel Jordan, an architect for the Vallejo City Unified 
     School District who designed Jesse Bethel High School, said 
     he was very close to Thurston.
       ``Basically, Bill Thurston is almost like a second father 
     to me. In other words, a mentor. He really assisted me in a 
     lot of decision-making types of things for my own personal 
     life,'' Jordan said.
       ``He's extremely going to be a loss to me, but he's passed 
     on so much wisdom. It's almost like passing on the torch 
     because we connected so much over the years,'' Jordan said. 
     Former Vallejo mayor Terry Curtola said he'd known Thurston 
     most of his adult life.
       ``Always was an adviser to me in my political career. Just 
     what I like to call a good old boy Vallejoan. He was always 
     supporting everything that went on. Always had the best of 
     Vallejo at heart. Just a good man,'' Curtola said.
       ``I think what I like the most about Bill more than 
     anything, he covered all the diversities of our whole 
     community. You could never pinpoint him. He was just a man 
     that I always went to for advice. Even when I didn't go to 
     him for advice, he'd call and give it to me anyway.'' Curtola 
     said.

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