Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Chapel Hill council member Bill Thorpe dies

Posted on October 2, 2008October 4, 2008 by Staff

Thorpe
William Henry “Bill” Thorpe, a longtime Chapel Hill Town Council member and community leader, died Saturday of heart failure at his home in the Ridgefield neighborhood in Chapel Hill. He was 66.
Thorpe had a long career in public service. Flags in Chapel Hill were lowered in his honor.
Thorpe, a resident of Chapel Hill for nearly 40 years, served on the council for a total of 11 years. He first served from 1977 to 1981, served another term from 1983 to 1987 and returned to the council on Dec. 5, 2005, nearly three decades after he was elected the first time. He served as mayor pro-tem from 1985 to 1987.

In 1984, he initiated legislation to celebrate as an official town holiday the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which marked Chapel Hill as the first in the state and one of the first municipalities in the nation to do so. Thorpe also set into motion the effort to rename Airport Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in May 2005. Another of his initiatives was the Town of Chapel Hill Internship Program, established in 2006 for university undergraduates. For his leadership in promoting civil rights in the community, Fayetteville State University honored him with its 2006 Humanitarian Award.
Delores Bailey, director of Empowerment Inc., said Thorpe spoke his mind on issues.

“I’m going to miss him,” she said. “You never had to guess where he stood. He was always looking out for the townspeople. He was very sensitive to the community.” It will be hard to replace someone with such a long perspective, she said. “When he spoke, he spoke from history. That perspective makes a difference.”

Thorpe attended Fayetteville State University and graduated from the National Scouting Executive Institute. He is the former director of apprenticeship and on-the-job training for the North Carolina Department of Labor. In addition, he served as a political consultant for the successful campaigns of State Court of Appeals judges Wanda Bryant and Linda McGee.

He was active in the National Black Caucus of Elected Officials and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch of the NAACP. He was also a member of numerous town and county committees, including the Chapel Hill Museum, Firefighters’ Relief Fund, Council Committee on Orange Water and Sewer Authority, Greenways Commission liaison, Orange County Land Trust Affordable Housing Maintenance Task Force and Personnel Appeals Committee liaison.

“Bill Thorpe served our community for more than 30 years,” said Mayor Kevin Foy. “His perspective on our recent history, and his insistence on remembering where we have been as a guide to where we should go, has been invaluable to Chapel Hill. We will miss him as a colleague and as a friend. On behalf of all of Chapel Hill, I offer our sincere sorrow and extend our deepest sympathy to Bill’s wife, Jean; his son, William; and his daughter, Beverly.”

Fellow council members Sally Greene and Mark Kleinschmidt each posted remembrances of Thorpe on their respective blogs.

Kleinschmidt said he got to know Thorpe during the effort to rename Airport Road for Martin Luther King Jr.

“Over the last three years he demanded that the Council consider the historical context of our decisions. He had lived and participated vigorously in that history and encouraged each of us to reflect on how our decisions in the present would create that history, and precedent, for future generations. Thank you Bill for your service, your leadership, your humor, and your friendship.” Kleinschmidt wrote.

Greene wrote: “He also taught me a lot about collegiality in public service — that is, about working together as colleagues. And he never ceased to remind all of us — usefully, no doubt — that we are public servants, that our actions and decisions must always be for the good of the whole community.”
A public viewing will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at University Baptist Church. Services will be held at 1 p.m.

—Staff Reports

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme