Obituary: William Durley, 89, former county clerk solved chad issue
By Ryan Lillis -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 16, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B6
William N. "Bill" Durley, a veteran of World War II's submarine front, an active volunteer in several local charities and a former Sacramento County clerk who developed a homemade device that removed hanging chads from voting ballots, has died. He was 89. Mr. Durley died July 9 of natural causes, said his daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley.Born in Berkeley, Mr. Durley joined the Navy in 1940, one year before he married Beatrice Bradley. He would serve in the Pacific campaign on various vessels, including the submarine USS Carp and the troop transport USS Pickaway. He retired from the Navy in 1962. He moved to Carmichael after leaving the military. After working briefly for then-President Eisenhower's international goodwill program, People to People, he was named Sacramento County clerk. While in that position, which he held from 1965 to 1975, Mr. Durley showed the handy skills his family would come to know well.Decades before the term "hanging chad" entered the country's consciousness, Mr. Durley assembled a homemade device that disposed of the pesky paper that launched a controversy in the 2000 presidential election. The device -- made of a box, a razor blade and his wife's vacuum cleaner -- removed chads from ballots and ensured that Sacramento elections proceeded without Florida-like headaches."That was how Sacramento kept from having voting disasters," Johnson said. "He had identified that it was a problem in the 1960s, and when it came up again, we said, 'Oh, we know how to fix that.' He was seen as a very progressive election official."Mr. Durley also played a role in researching the first voting machines used in the state and was named California chief of elections in 1975, a position he held for 10 years.He retired in 1985 and, as his daughter said, "immediately became a full-time volunteer." He split most of his time between the Sacramento chapters of the American Red Cross and the United Way, but was also involved with the Girl Scouts, KVIE public television and the Sacramento Urban League.Mr. Durley also was a member and a national director of the Navy League, an elder at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, an Eagle Scout mentor and a tutor for at-risk students in the area. He received several awards for his charity, including the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award for philanthropy from the United Way and the James H. McColm Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Red Cross."He was really a community treasure," his daughter said. "When I think of him, I think of a man of wit and intelligence and both humility and a childlike ego where he was always delighted to discover how capable he was, and that was very beguiling."His first wife, Beatrice, died in 1993, and his son Brad died in 1985. In addition to Johnson, Mr. Durley is survived by his wife, Ruth; a son, William; three stepchildren, Marjorie Fox, Nancy Chekel and Russell Seimears; 14 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.William N. "Bill" DurleyBorn: May 22, 1917 Died: July 9, 2006 Remembered for: Former Sacramento County clerk, he was heavily involved with several local community organizations. Survived by: Wife, Ruth Seimears Durley of Carmichael; son, William Durley Jr. of Gardnerville, Nev.; daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley; stepdaughters, Marjorie Fox of McLean, Va., and Nancy Chekel of Newport Beach; stepson, Russell Seimears of Sacramento; 14 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren. Memorial service: 3 p.m. today at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, 5645 Marconi Ave. Remembrance: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to the Sacramento chapter of the American Red Cross, Sierra Adoption Services or the Carmichael Presbyterian Church Legacy of Faith Fund.
By Ryan Lillis -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 16, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B6
William N. "Bill" Durley, a veteran of World War II's submarine front, an active volunteer in several local charities and a former Sacramento County clerk who developed a homemade device that removed hanging chads from voting ballots, has died. He was 89. Mr. Durley died July 9 of natural causes, said his daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley.Born in Berkeley, Mr. Durley joined the Navy in 1940, one year before he married Beatrice Bradley. He would serve in the Pacific campaign on various vessels, including the submarine USS Carp and the troop transport USS Pickaway. He retired from the Navy in 1962. He moved to Carmichael after leaving the military. After working briefly for then-President Eisenhower's international goodwill program, People to People, he was named Sacramento County clerk. While in that position, which he held from 1965 to 1975, Mr. Durley showed the handy skills his family would come to know well.Decades before the term "hanging chad" entered the country's consciousness, Mr. Durley assembled a homemade device that disposed of the pesky paper that launched a controversy in the 2000 presidential election. The device -- made of a box, a razor blade and his wife's vacuum cleaner -- removed chads from ballots and ensured that Sacramento elections proceeded without Florida-like headaches."That was how Sacramento kept from having voting disasters," Johnson said. "He had identified that it was a problem in the 1960s, and when it came up again, we said, 'Oh, we know how to fix that.' He was seen as a very progressive election official."Mr. Durley also played a role in researching the first voting machines used in the state and was named California chief of elections in 1975, a position he held for 10 years.He retired in 1985 and, as his daughter said, "immediately became a full-time volunteer." He split most of his time between the Sacramento chapters of the American Red Cross and the United Way, but was also involved with the Girl Scouts, KVIE public television and the Sacramento Urban League.Mr. Durley also was a member and a national director of the Navy League, an elder at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, an Eagle Scout mentor and a tutor for at-risk students in the area. He received several awards for his charity, including the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award for philanthropy from the United Way and the James H. McColm Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Red Cross."He was really a community treasure," his daughter said. "When I think of him, I think of a man of wit and intelligence and both humility and a childlike ego where he was always delighted to discover how capable he was, and that was very beguiling."His first wife, Beatrice, died in 1993, and his son Brad died in 1985. In addition to Johnson, Mr. Durley is survived by his wife, Ruth; a son, William; three stepchildren, Marjorie Fox, Nancy Chekel and Russell Seimears; 14 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.William N. "Bill" DurleyBorn: May 22, 1917 Died: July 9, 2006 Remembered for: Former Sacramento County clerk, he was heavily involved with several local community organizations. Survived by: Wife, Ruth Seimears Durley of Carmichael; son, William Durley Jr. of Gardnerville, Nev.; daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley; stepdaughters, Marjorie Fox of McLean, Va., and Nancy Chekel of Newport Beach; stepson, Russell Seimears of Sacramento; 14 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren. Memorial service: 3 p.m. today at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, 5645 Marconi Ave. Remembrance: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to the Sacramento chapter of the American Red Cross, Sierra Adoption Services or the Carmichael Presbyterian Church Legacy of Faith Fund.
Obituary: William Durley, 89, former county clerk solved chad issue
By Ryan Lillis -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 16, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B6
William N. "Bill" Durley, a veteran of World War II's submarine front, an active volunteer in several local charities and a former Sacramento County clerk who developed a homemade device that removed hanging chads from voting ballots, has died. He was 89. Mr. Durley died July 9 of natural causes, said his daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley.Born in Berkeley, Mr. Durley joined the Navy in 1940, one year before he married Beatrice Bradley. He would serve in the Pacific campaign on various vessels, including the submarine USS Carp and the troop transport USS Pickaway. He retired from the Navy in 1962. He moved to Carmichael after leaving the military. After working briefly for then-President Eisenhower's international goodwill program, People to People, he was named Sacramento County clerk. While in that position, which he held from 1965 to 1975, Mr. Durley showed the handy skills his family would come to know well.Decades before the term "hanging chad" entered the country's consciousness, Mr. Durley assembled a homemade device that disposed of the pesky paper that launched a controversy in the 2000 presidential election. The device -- made of a box, a razor blade and his wife's vacuum cleaner -- removed chads from ballots and ensured that Sacramento elections proceeded without Florida-like headaches."That was how Sacramento kept from having voting disasters," Johnson said. "He had identified that it was a problem in the 1960s, and when it came up again, we said, 'Oh, we know how to fix that.' He was seen as a very progressive election official."Mr. Durley also played a role in researching the first voting machines used in the state and was named California chief of elections in 1975, a position he held for 10 years.He retired in 1985 and, as his daughter said, "immediately became a full-time volunteer." He split most of his time between the Sacramento chapters of the American Red Cross and the United Way, but was also involved with the Girl Scouts, KVIE public television and the Sacramento Urban League.Mr. Durley also was a member and a national director of the Navy League, an elder at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, an Eagle Scout mentor and a tutor for at-risk students in the area. He received several awards for his charity, including the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award for philanthropy from the United Way and the James H. McColm Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Red Cross."He was really a community treasure," his daughter said. "When I think of him, I think of a man of wit and intelligence and both humility and a childlike ego where he was always delighted to discover how capable he was, and that was very beguiling."His first wife, Beatrice, died in 1993, and his son Brad died in 1985. In addition to Johnson, Mr. Durley is survived by his wife, Ruth; a son, William; three stepchildren, Marjorie Fox, Nancy Chekel and Russell Seimears; 14 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.William N. "Bill" DurleyBorn: May 22, 1917 Died: July 9, 2006 Remembered for: Former Sacramento County clerk, he was heavily involved with several local community organizations. Survived by: Wife, Ruth Seimears Durley of Carmichael; son, William Durley Jr. of Gardnerville, Nev.; daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley; stepdaughters, Marjorie Fox of McLean, Va., and Nancy Chekel of Newport Beach; stepson, Russell Seimears of Sacramento; 14 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren. Memorial service: 3 p.m. today at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, 5645 Marconi Ave. Remembrance: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to the Sacramento chapter of the American Red Cross, Sierra Adoption Services or the Carmichael Presbyterian Church Legacy of Faith Fund.
By Ryan Lillis -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 16, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B6
William N. "Bill" Durley, a veteran of World War II's submarine front, an active volunteer in several local charities and a former Sacramento County clerk who developed a homemade device that removed hanging chads from voting ballots, has died. He was 89. Mr. Durley died July 9 of natural causes, said his daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley.Born in Berkeley, Mr. Durley joined the Navy in 1940, one year before he married Beatrice Bradley. He would serve in the Pacific campaign on various vessels, including the submarine USS Carp and the troop transport USS Pickaway. He retired from the Navy in 1962. He moved to Carmichael after leaving the military. After working briefly for then-President Eisenhower's international goodwill program, People to People, he was named Sacramento County clerk. While in that position, which he held from 1965 to 1975, Mr. Durley showed the handy skills his family would come to know well.Decades before the term "hanging chad" entered the country's consciousness, Mr. Durley assembled a homemade device that disposed of the pesky paper that launched a controversy in the 2000 presidential election. The device -- made of a box, a razor blade and his wife's vacuum cleaner -- removed chads from ballots and ensured that Sacramento elections proceeded without Florida-like headaches."That was how Sacramento kept from having voting disasters," Johnson said. "He had identified that it was a problem in the 1960s, and when it came up again, we said, 'Oh, we know how to fix that.' He was seen as a very progressive election official."Mr. Durley also played a role in researching the first voting machines used in the state and was named California chief of elections in 1975, a position he held for 10 years.He retired in 1985 and, as his daughter said, "immediately became a full-time volunteer." He split most of his time between the Sacramento chapters of the American Red Cross and the United Way, but was also involved with the Girl Scouts, KVIE public television and the Sacramento Urban League.Mr. Durley also was a member and a national director of the Navy League, an elder at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, an Eagle Scout mentor and a tutor for at-risk students in the area. He received several awards for his charity, including the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award for philanthropy from the United Way and the James H. McColm Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Red Cross."He was really a community treasure," his daughter said. "When I think of him, I think of a man of wit and intelligence and both humility and a childlike ego where he was always delighted to discover how capable he was, and that was very beguiling."His first wife, Beatrice, died in 1993, and his son Brad died in 1985. In addition to Johnson, Mr. Durley is survived by his wife, Ruth; a son, William; three stepchildren, Marjorie Fox, Nancy Chekel and Russell Seimears; 14 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.William N. "Bill" DurleyBorn: May 22, 1917 Died: July 9, 2006 Remembered for: Former Sacramento County clerk, he was heavily involved with several local community organizations. Survived by: Wife, Ruth Seimears Durley of Carmichael; son, William Durley Jr. of Gardnerville, Nev.; daughter, Gail Johnson of Grass Valley; stepdaughters, Marjorie Fox of McLean, Va., and Nancy Chekel of Newport Beach; stepson, Russell Seimears of Sacramento; 14 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren. Memorial service: 3 p.m. today at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, 5645 Marconi Ave. Remembrance: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to the Sacramento chapter of the American Red Cross, Sierra Adoption Services or the Carmichael Presbyterian Church Legacy of Faith Fund.
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