1964-2009 | Uncompromising advocate of Latin American immigrants, dual language instruction
July 14, 2009
John N. Thale, a human rights activist and teacher, was buried by his friends last Saturday not 50 feet from the Haymarket Martyr's Monument in Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park.
"We all sang Joe Hill," said his friend Tom Burke. "That was one of John's favorite songs. Some of Joe Hill's ashes are scattered right near there."
Then they sang "L'Internationale," the international workers' anthem, in English and Spanish. They read the 1907 poem "We Only Want the Earth," by Irish patriot James Connolly. They shared some memories of their friend and finished with the song "Imagine" by John Lennon.
Mr. Thale died of brain cancer July 7 in his Chicago home. He was 45 years old.
An activist since his high school years in Milwaukee, he was a former organizer for the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador and Latin American immigrant causes. Fluent in Spanish, he taught second- and third-grade English as a second language in three Chicago Public Schools and at Truman College.
"He was the youngest of five children, and the entire family was very political," said his life partner Sarah Simmons. "He was influenced by their conversations around the dinner table."
He went on to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, which was a focus of political and social causes, including the civil war in El Salvador and U.S. support of the military government, she said. In 1985, he went to Guatemala to continue his Spanish studies. He was in Mexico City in 1985 when a major earthquake killed thousands.
"He was with a friend who wanted to stay one more day and they got caught in the earthquake," Simmons said. "Their hotel was OK, but many of the tall buildings outside had fallen."
After working in Washington, D.C., he moved to New York City in 1987 and campaigned for the CISPES, organizing and demonstrating for human rights in El Salvador. He moved to Chicago in 1989, where he finished his undergraduate degree and got a master's degree at Columbia College. He taught at Truman College as well as second and third grades at Jungman, Cooper and Ruiz Elementary Schools. "What he loved teaching was dual language," Simmons said. "The philosophy is different than bilingual education. In bilingual education, the thought is to assimilate the kids and get them into English classrooms as soon as possible. Dual language teaches them to be proficient in their first language and then move into the second language. He felt strongly about that."
Mr. Thale was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer in 2004. He decided to visit Ireland and see some of the places he had heard his older family members talk about, explained his brother Christopher.
"Our grandparents met at an Irish nationalist meeting here in Chicago," his brother said. "John felt it essential to see these historic sites in Ireland."
"He was a person of great integrity," Simmons said. "He was uncompromising in his beliefs. He was committed to human rights and social justice. But he was also very respectful of other people's points of view. He was never strident or harsh. He was able to pull people together."
Other survivors include his daughter, Katherine Rose Thale; stepchildren, Rachel and John Dickson; his mother, Rose Marie Thale; two other brothers, Geoff and Brian; and a sister Meg Thale.
Services have been held.
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as they enter the sanctuary for the service. Traditional Christmas Carols will be sung, special music will be heard, and the Advent candles will be lit. The congregation will hear characters who were present at the nativity of Bethlehem tell their stories. Then all those present will be invited to light their candles and encircle the sanctuary to sing a closing carol. All are invited to come and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Shiloh United Methodist Church on Airport Road, Hillsville, will present a contemporary play, "Are You Coming?" December 27, at 6:30 p.m. 
Twenty years ago I visited the Virginia Supreme Court in Richmond. As a cathedral invokes reverence for the Spirit, the chambers are intended to invoke reverence for the Law.
more than ever. It's time to reassess the "American way" of spending to excess—on credit—for unnecessary stuff.
