William Patrick Thornton

1942 - 2024

William Patrick Thornton
04/19/1942 - 10/26/2024
The oldest of six, born in SF and raised in Hayward, by Bea and Will Thornton, who presided over a noisy and sometimes chaotic household. He leaves behind siblings, Patsy, Kathy (Mike), Rob (Irene), Helen, and Joe (Sandy), and son, Dylan (Jennifer), and grandson, Xavier, as well as cousins, nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. He also leaves behind two ex-wives, Louise and Judy, who spent a portion of their lives with him, as well as four step-children, Jonathan, David, Cristina and Cecelia.
Dylan remembers the terror, but also trust, as Bill hoisted him above the madly spinning brushes at Playland and shooting baskets with Dylan's friends in grade school. He was a true San Franciscan, calling Divisadero "Divis" and Japan Town "J-town", often with what could be called the Mission District accent. Aside from surfing and Las Vegas, Bill's greatest motivation was supporting organized labor, workers' rights and the union. He served as shop steward and for many years an officer of Letter Carriers 214. Bill imbued in him a respect for all types of people in all types of work and a world view of universal fairness. He introduced his son to the likes of Bertrand Russell, Beyond the Fringe, and the Bread and Roses Strike. He also involved himself with local and national politics, canvassing for Democrats in Las Vegas (a good union town), and was consistent in his belief that government should work for all the people. He also never lost his affinity for sixties British films featuring disaffected youth, often male protagonists in quiet or not so quiet revolt. He could be inscrutable, but the times that you got something from him felt momentous.
His focus on needs of his constituents did not, however, turn him into an ascetic with a sack lunch. He never deprived himself of a meal at a good restaurant and would enjoy a beach accessible hotel with a pool. He could read, think, and ultimately, take in too much sun. As the eldest of a sizable Irish-Catholic family living on a teacher's salary, one can imagine the freedom of adulthood where he was not restricted to the bowl of late-night cereal but instead, enjoy limitless portions of creme brûlée.
Dylan is grateful for Bill's igniting a lifelong relationship with the ocean. In the years preceding his passing, he visited fairly regularly and spent a few years with endless coffee and MCNBC on endless loop, sometimes in conversation, often in silence. Dylan looks back years ago when Bill enjoyed spending time with Dylan's friends, some who were colorful and others too clever by half. Bill might have been amused at times but he never judged. It was with genuine interest that he engaged them, showing his intellect and measured discursive skills.
Bill played on the Hayward High basketball team. He let brother Rob join him in pick-up games. He preferred being a shooting guard rather than a center or forward, as he liked shooting from the outside rather than taking his height advantage on the inside, thereby giving Rob a fighting chance. Bill was his idol, and Rob experienced staying in Bill's USF dorm room and attending the USF Dons basketball games. Bill introduced Rob to skiing and surfing. There are memories of Bill catching a wave and Rob enduring multiple wipe-outs from Ocean Beach to Santa Cruz, and those were the days of long boards, no wetsuits or leashes. Bill's red MG provided other adventures for his younger brother, giving Rob rides to Bishop O'Dowd rather than the boring ride on the 82. The MG frequently failed to start so the two of them became proficient at jump starting it by pushing it down the street, with Bill popping the clutch. When it failed to start, Rob would be late for school and proudly led the class that year in detentions. Bill introduced Rob to the New Left, wealth inequality and the writings of C. Wright Mills, Noam Chomsky, Tom Hayden, Robert Scheer and other Ramparts Magazine writers. Bill loved to debate, often taking the contrarian view on any subject just to make things interesting. He would do so with great humor and despite the decibel level, Rob cannot recall a single occasion when an argument finished in anger.
Bill was Joe's larger than life older brother, always driving cool cars (MG, Peugeot, BMW) and listening to music like the Beach Boys. He surfed, owned a bookstore for a time, was a voracious reader, master debater, and political junkie. Joe remembers Bill as quiet, but approachable and always having a topic to discuss- from politics, to sports, to cars. Determined he was. He lugged multiple Foster's Beer cans in a backpack up the trail to Thousand Island Lakes, then hiked further to get snow to keep them cold. Also impatient. On the way back down, he took off ahead of the slowpokes, took the wrong turn and was the last one back to the cars. Joe remembers him being kind and patient with him when he tried to teach Joe surfing. It did not work, as Joe became freaked out at the experience. His work with his union was masterful and a bond they both shared. A carpenter he was not.
Patsy remembers him leading post-dinner discussions of history and politics, always questioning conventional ideas and finding himself increasingly skeptical of Catholic dogma. The nuns at All Saints Elementary loved him for his inquiring mind but often found themselves uncomfortable with his ideas about the some Catholic beliefs, especially when the priests would visit the class. He was truly eclectic when it came to music, bringing home 45s with Fats Domino and Little Richard and later on, LPs with Thelonious Monk and Bob Dylan. It seemed as though Bill was constantly grappling with personal issues, but he carried a restless spirit with an appreciation of complexity, paradox, and ambiguity, which he carried all through his life. His long-time childhood friend Gary Walker followed Bill through the years. They grew up on a dead-end street and sometimes got into mischief, once accidentally starting a brush fire in an empty lot, necessitating a visit from the Hayward Fire Department. Gary doggedly pursued the friendship, even when Bill did not always reciprocate. He always appreciated Bill's intellect and curiosity and cherished his long-time connection to Bill.
Kathy remembers Bill's union office in SF, and realized why he enjoyed his work as vice-president of Local 14. He had bright post-it notes on his desk with the names and contacts of the many members he was currently working with in order to help resolve issues affecting their work. She missed Bill when he went to college and would cook something special for him when he came home for the weekend. She would fill the fridge with tapioca pudding cups until Bea told her to make room for other food. She remembers listening to "Blue Suede Shoes" and all kinds of early rock and roll in the 45s he brought home. She of course, also admired his red MG. In the past several years, she provided phone and in-person consultation on healthy food he could fix by himself. She was unafraid to ask him to tell her of his health issues and he did open up a bit about them despite his reluctance to share them with some family members. She was a steadfastly loyal sister to Bill and always made sure she and Mike would visit him whenever they made it down to the Bay Area. She was the main thread in keeping him connected to family over the years.
Helen remembers family reunions in Gearhart, Oregon, and she always had a copy of People Magazine and would catch Bill leafing through the pages. Her partner Marge would tease him about it as he generally looked down on tabloid-type magazines. She even offered him a subscription to People which he laughingly declined as he would have been embarrassed to have it delivered to his mailbox. Helen appreciates the time she got to spend with him in 2023 as she did not have many opportunities to be with him throughout their adult lives. Like Kathy, Helen was not afraid to ask him some personal things, something he had difficulty sharing. He opened up about some issues in his life and for the first time since they were kids, Helen and Bill made a close connection. Her memory of that visit is poignant for her as that was the last time she saw him, but she is grateful that she spent time with him near the end of his life.
Bill was lucky to benefit from the advances in cancer treatments, in particular for metastatic melanoma, which was kept at bay for almost a decade due to immunotherapy treatment. He was able to experience good quality of life during those years (including periodic visits to Vegas). The family is grateful to the UCSF team of oncologists and melanoma specialists who gave him those extra years of life.
A graveside service was held on November 5th last year at Lone Tree Cemetery in Hayward. It was attended by family members, friends and union colleagues.