CHAPEL HILL -- Ashley Osment thought her friend Bill Thorpe might have been making a mistake when he started the push to rename Airport Road for Martin Luther King Jr.

"My gut reaction was, 'Why would we want to bring that division and rancor on ourselves?'" said Osment, a Chapel Hill civil rights attorney.

But that, friends and colleagues of the town councilman who died Saturday said, was Thorpe: a damn-the-torpedoes fighter for what he thought was right.

Osment soon was swayed, and the Town Council changed the name after a heated months-long debate about the renaming and underlying issues of race relations underpinning it.

"It caught me by surprise, the wisdom of that proposal.," Osment said Monday.

"Not only would it really redress the legacy of racism officially in local politics, it also would prove you could set your sights high and accomplish something just by daring to endeavor."

The road renaming likely will be the most visible legacy Thorpe leaves behind, but there was much more to the man, friends and colleagues said.

Thorpe, who died at 67, was hailed as a shrewd politician, grassroots organizer and campaign manager. He also will be remembered for his sense of humor and his strong will.

"He always had a smile and a laugh and a handshake, but underneath it he felt strongly and had a passion for justice," said Stephen Dear, executive director of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, which Thorpe served as a community organizer.

"We've lost someone as a community that we can be really proud of. We're better people for Bill Thorpe's passion for justice and humor and grace and kindness."

Thorpe served on the town council from 1977 to 1981, 1983 to 1987 and from 2005 until his death.

The council will have to find someone to fill his seat until his current term expires next year, but no one wanted to discuss that Monday.

"That's a question for another day," Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt said.

Thorpe brought a wealth of institutional knowledge to his most recent term, council colleagues said.

"He had a perspective on Chapel Hill's history that very few people have," Mayor Kevin Foy said.

"But I don't want to make it sound like Bill was reminiscing about the past. Bill was very eager to be sure we understood why we did the things we did in the past as we moved forward in the future, to try to be sure we stuck to our principles."

Thorpe put to good use the same political skills that led the Airport Road renaming proposal to fruition.

He served as a political consultant for the successful campaigns pf State Court of Appeals Judges Wanda Bryant and Linda McGee.

That just scratched the surface of the campaigns he worked on behind the scenes.

"Every single time something was happening in local, regional or state politics, Bill would be the one who would have a really clear analysis," said Osment, who was close enough to Thorpe that he had a favorite chair in her home.

"He really trusted his gut but also was an astute observer of the political proces."

Another victory for Thorpe also involved King.

In 1984 he convinced town leaders to make King's birthday a town holiday, making Chapel Hill one of the first municipalities in the nation to do so.

"His work on those issues, in working to help people remember what the civil rights battle has been about and the ongoing nature of that struggle, has been part of his public service for decades," Kleinschmidt said.

Thorpe was born and raised in Granville County and attended college at Fayetteville State University. He and his family moved to Chapel Hill in 1970.

He worked as director of apprenticeship and training for the N.C. Department of Labor.

He was honored with the Humanitarian Award from Fayetteville State University in February 2006, and he was active in several local, state, and national organizations, including the Chapel Hill-Carrboro branch of the NAACP, the N.C. Black Elected Municipal Officials and the National Black Caucus of Elected Officials.

Many said they would miss Thorpe the man as much or more than Thorpe the local leader.

"I don't think there's such a thing as a conversation with Bill that didn't include a lot of laughter," Osment said.

Thorpe wasn't shy about expressing his opinion, but would use humor to ease tension after taking an impassioned stand, Foy said.

"That was a charming characteristic," he said.

"I thought that made him effective."

Survivors include: his wife, Jean Swinson Thorpe, formerly of Goldsboro; his children, daughter, Beverly Thorpe of Raleigh, and son, William Thorpe Jr. of Chapel Hill; his brother, the Rev. Ned (Gloria) Thorpe of Chapel Hill; and sisters, Mary Thorpe Brown of Philadelphia, Pa.; Louise Thorpe of Brooklyn, N.Y., Virginia (William) Thorpe of Oxford, and Gloria Thorpe Cross of Oxford; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends .