Class of ’32 Colonist Elmer Thill
Despite the Coronavirus quarantine, AHS Class of ’32 graduated Elmer Thill celebrated his 106th birthday on Sunday, April 19, 2020, with a drive-by parade. This is the second pandemic Elmer has lived through, the first being the Spanish flu in 1918 when he was 4 years old.
Led by the City of Anaheim Police and Fire Departments at the request of Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Faessel, a lifetime friend of the Thill family, the parade made its way down Citron Street, past Anaheim High School, to the house Elmer built, and has lived in, for more than 60 years. Councilman Faessel is married to Susan (Warden) Faessel from AHS Class of ’67. Both Steve and Susan were part of the parade!
Other vehicles, include several classic cars and trucks, joined the parade to celebrate Anaheim’s oldest resident and the oldest living graduate of Anaheim High. Elmer sat on his front porch playing “Happy Birthday” on his clarinet and waving to the well wishers. Several neighbors gathered across the street from his home with “Happy Birthday” banners.
A musician his entire life, Elmer played in the Anaheim High orchestra and band. Elmer, whose parents owned Anaheim’s Central Hotel, made his living as a real estate agent and broker. (He still has his real estate license.)
Thill’s wife, Genevieve “Jean,” passed away Dec. 12, 2016, at age 101. The couple raised five children, and traveled around the world during their 78 years of marriage. Elmer lives with his son, Richard, an Anaheim High Class of ’57 graduate.
The Anaheim High School Alumni Association helped organize the surprise parade after Elmer’s birthday party was cancelled due to CV-19. When Elmer celebrated his 104th birthday, the AHSAA arranged a surprise performance by the Anaheim High School Marching Band on his front lawn.
Enjoy these photos documenting this special occasion:
