Chapel Hill loses a leader: Bill Thorpe served on Town Council for 11 years

Chapel Hill lost an influential leader Saturday night with the death of council member Bill Thorpe.

Thorpe who lived in Chapel Hill since 1970 served a total of 11 years on the Chapel Hill Town Council. During that time he also served as a mentor for younger council members and reached out to the youth of the town by advocating for Chapel Hill's internship program.

He helped establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Chapel Hill one of the first Southern towns to do so and he fought for the renaming of Airport Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Thorpe will especially be missed by DTH staff who remember him as a highly accessible politician who would come to  the newsroom to speak with student journalists.

Thorpe was an iconic Chapel Hill resident and politician who reached out to members of this community and made a tangible positive impact on it. He will be sorely missed.