We mourn the passing of:
Inside Wireman Charles F. Wright passed on March 17th . He was 48 years old, and had been a Local 569 member for over 20 years.
Charles was born in Leadville, Colorado. Following high school graduation, he joined the Navy, and served four-years. Two years later, Charles was dispatched through Local 611, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he gained the education and experience to work as a journeyman inside wireman. He remained with Local 611 for two years, during which time he passed his Inside Wireman’s exam, and then moved to San Diego. Local 569 dispatched Charles to Dynalectric in mid-1997. For the next 20+ years, Charles would be dispatched to: Dynalectric (4 times), Saturn Electric (almost 2 years over 3 dispatches), Neal Electric (2 years over 5 dispatches), and Accelerated (2 years over 3 dispatches, including being hired as a Foreman for 1 year). Charles would work for several other shops, as well, including: Chula Vista, Steiny & Co., Morrow-Meadows, Sorrento Electric, USS Cal Builders, and several dispatches to Edlen, GES, and TSE. His last 2 dispatches were to shops in Imperial Valley, namely, Mortenson and Cupertino, respectively. Charles was genial and had a quiet demeanor, whenever he’d come into our office. We will miss him.
There will be a private ceremony for family only.
Journeyman Inside Wireman and former Contractor, Albert (Al) M. Thomas, who passed on March 18th. He was 78 years old, and had been a member of Local 569 and the IBEW for over 56½ years.
Brother Thomas was born in Brooklyn, New York, and in 1960, as a determined young man (not yet 20), he was accepted into Local 25’s JATC in Long Island. By the mid-70s, he had worked his way to Local 569, and we were ready for him! This was the beginning of Bechtel’s “boom” years for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations (SONGS), and they hired “like nobody’s business”, for their Units 2 & 3, and Unit 1, especially if an electrician was also a certified welder. Al was dispatched as a Journeyman Wireman/Welder to Units 2 & 3, on swing shift, in February 1977, and he truly never looked back. Over the next 5+ years, he would be dispatched to either Unit 1 or Units 2 & 3, exclusively. After a short 3-week “break” for California Electric Works (CALEWO), he went back to Bechtel 2 & 3 in August 1982. By this time, Bechtel added “GPMA” (General President’s Maintenance Agreement) to their name. Then a 17-month “break” came, when Al took a call for Jadat Electric, lasting from May 1986 – Oct. 1987. He then went back to Bechtel GPMA for 5 months in 1988. After taking a couple of short calls for Neal Electric in late 1988, Al took a 2½ year “breather”. In 1991, he was dispatched to Amelco, and stayed with them for over 2 months, before he quit. He took some time off to do some self-assessment, and then in 1994, decided to start his own shop, TAL Electric, with his wife, Linda. They held their company until 2003, when Al decided to retire. After retiring, Al and Linda moved to Oregon, where they were residing, at the time of his passing. His manner was easy-going, and we’ll miss him.
Journeyman Inside Wireman John L. Sullivan, Jr. passed on March 21st. He was 82 years old, and had been a Local 569 member for over 55½ years.
Originally from Virginia, Brother Sullivan was 18, when he entered the U.S. Air Force, and served for 4 years. While in the Air Force, John pursued his electrical and electronics interests, by taking courses in Electronics AC & DC, Math For Electricians, and Electronics Part I & Part II. Within 8 months after separation from the military, he went to work for Pedernales Electric Company, in Bertram, Texas, for 8 months. By April 1960, John returned to his ‘roots’, and began working at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company (in Virginia), as an electrician. He stayed at the company for almost 2½ years, becoming a member of their Union, known as the Peninsula Shipbuilding Association. During late Summer 1962, John made his way to Local 569, and was dispatched to Ets-Hokin & Galvan (Ets), as an Industrial Electrician M (Marine/Maintenance). He stayed with Ets for almost 2 years, until an opportunity arose at Universal Electric, in July 1964. As (un)luck would have it, during his time at Universal, there would be a “strike” (length unknown). After leaving San Diego for a short period, John returned, and would work at: National Steel & Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), S.D.G. & E. (totaling more than 1½ years over 2 dispatches), Blue Diamond Electric, Frontier Electric (2 dispatches), Goodwin, Fischbach & Moore (F & M), Bechtel (totaling 4 years over 3 dispatches), Interstate (almost 2½ years over 2 dispatches), and wound up his career at Fuller Electric, spending exactly 2 years, 11 months with them. John began his retirement in 1999. He was living in Arizona, at the time of his passing. John was a tall, ‘bear’ of a man, who was as kind as he was Union-minded, and he will be missed.
