William John Thill 1875 - 1912

THILL

Posted By: Errin Wilker (email)
Date: 4/23/2012 at 19:52:55

William J. Thill, of Des Moines, Iowa, manager of the Independent Toll Clearing House and secretary of the Iowa Independent Telephone Association, died on Tuesday evening, at the Presbyterian Hospital, Chicago. Mr. Thill had been a sufferer for many years from some ill defined trouble and a few days ago concluded to submit to an operation in the hope of discovering and remedying his ailment. Following the operation pneumonia developed and he sank rapidly, passing away on Christmas Eve.

In the eight years which he spent in the Independent telephone business in Iowa, Mr. Thill made a host of friends. Probably no man in the state was more widely known or better loved. His was a sterling character. To a thorough knowledge of the business he coupled a devotion to its interests rarely equaled. In addition to his fine, upright qualities of mind and heart he possessed a genial soul and a most lovable disposition. He always managed to discern the best there was in the people with whom he associated, permitting their less desirable qualities to sink into obscurity. Blessed with a mellow and kindly sense of humor, he was never sarcastic nor bitter. He preferred to laugh with, not at, people. He believed the world to be a mighty good old place and. be it said here, it has been the better because of "Big Bill" Thill, as his friends affectionately called him.

An instance of his constant and intense desire to be helpful is found in one of the last things with which he concerned himself before going to the hospital. Telephony's Directory of the Telephone Industry is just being prepared for the press and Mr. Thill spent several hours in carefully going over the list of companies in Iowa in order that it might be absolutely accurate and up to date. Jokingly announcing that he expected to be placed on the paper's payroll, he, nevertheless, finished this tiresome task without expectation or desire of return and felt that he had done nothing out of the ordinary. And this is but one instance out of thousands which illustrate his willingness to "help the other fellow along."

One frequently hears the expression that we "love a man for the enemies he has made," the inference being that a man is not a positive character who makes no enemies. Either this is a fallacy, or "Big Bill" Thill was the exception which proves the rule. We do not believe that he had an enemy in the world. We have never heard a man or woman say other than kindly things about him. His gentle, kindly nature found universal appreciation. And yet he was a strong man, and a brave one. When the Spanish/American war broke out, he was one of the first in his section to enlist and, for over a year, he served with his command in Cuba and elsewhere. Later he served his county in civil offices with the same fidelity to duty.

Mr. Thill was unmarried. He was born in New Albin. Iowa, July 29. 1875, and died December 24, 1912. His career was all too short. His family has lost an exemplary son and brother; the Independent telephone industry has lost a splendid member and a stalwart worker.

Source: http://www.the-roundup.com/Randall/WagnerJan2012.pdf