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Deena J Gonzalez
Spokane and New Mexico
24 Feb 2022 |
Bill was a graduate student in History at UCB; he touched many of us with his advocacy for LGBTQI Studies when there were just the beginning of such things in research universities. More than this was his calm, clear intellect. He was an outstanding writer, precise, interpretive, with great insights concerning US Social History in particular. He took a leave from graduate studies to focus on SF gay politics, making such strong contributions through that same intellect and love of politics. We lost someone who had, like so many on this site, a lifetime of achievements awaiting them. |
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steven
san francisco
24 Jun 2010 |
bill, i admired you from a distance for your physical beauty, and up close for your intelligence and dedication to equality for all. like so many others, i was enamored by you. your generous spirit advanced our cause for equal rights and for that we owe you a great deal of gratitude. you are very deeply missed. --steve richmond |
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John Mehring
San Francisco
9 Apr 2013 |
According to Randy Shilts, writing about Bill in And the Band Played On: At night...Bill drove his Datsun to a desolate windswept hilltop set above the Castro District. From a craggy outcropping of Corona Heights, he could see the small, busy, gay enclave below and the tall skyscrapers of downtown.... (p. 163, 1st Edition, 1987). Today, near the main entrance to Corona Heights Park, at Roosevelt and Museum, in the welcoming triangular meadow, there is a park bench, facing west, that has this inscription on a brown plaque: BILL KRAUS IN LOVING MEMORY FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO WERE TOUCHED BY HIS COURAGE AND COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL JUSTICE. In the first years of the AIDS epidemic, prior to his death, Bill lived close by, in a Duboce Triangle flat. |
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Mitch
London UK
28 Oct 2011 |
Rest in peace with angels |
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Derek Price
Chattanooga, TN
26 Feb 2014 |
Hi Bill! Just stopping by to say hello and to let you know that we have not forgotten you. I became aware of you through And The Band Played On, and The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. I've done various Google searches, and it is a true shame that bright shining people trying to make a difference were taken from us. Rest in Peace, and know that you are appreciated! |
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Steve Throndson
Minneapolis, MN
13 Dec 2013 |
Bill Kraus is featured in many of the episodes of The Gay Life radio program (1979-1984) from San Francisco that is digitized and available to the public on the GLBT Historical Society website. Listening to Bill in these interviews and speeches, it is clear that he was an intelligent, passionate and caring man, who was deeply committed to advancing equal rights for gays and lesbians. His political skills and leadership helped guide the gay community through some of the most turbulent and frightening times. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about Bill and hear his words of courage and hope for a future that he didn't live to see. |
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John Mehring
San Francisco
9 Apr 2013 |
According to Michael T. Roper in his book, Memories of My Gay Brothers, The City of San Francisco and particularly the growing AIDS community felt deeply the loss of Bill Kraus. So much so that a meadow and path in Corona Heights Park was named by the City in his honor, the Bill Kraus Meadow and Path.[However, there is no official signage in the park that indicates this memorial, besides a plaque on a bench that was placed there by family and friends to remember Bill -- see my other entry.] |
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