Bill Tolliver died at home in Oak Harbor, Wash., Jan. 27, 2015, at the age of 77 after a prolonged illness. He was born in New Jersey, the son of the late William and Evelina Tolliver.

Bill retired from the Air Force with 27 years of service. As a medic, he served one tour in Vietnam and another three years transporting battle casualties from Vietnam to the United States. In 1975, as a graduate of the Defense Race Relations Institute, he was selected to be a Human Relations instructor for the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, General Officers of the Pentagon and their respective staff. In 1981, he was Senior NCO of the Year for SAC and 15th Air Force.

After he graduated (cum laude) from California State University, Stanislaus, in 1985 with a BA in social science, he became the Equal Opportunity officer for Merced County, Calif. He was very involved in the Merced/Atwater community as president of the local NAACP chapter, a member of the Board of Directors of the Challenger Learning Center (Merced), a member of the Board of Directors for the Merced/Mariposa American Red Cross; and others. Bill also was the director of Mental Health for Merced County.

He is survived by his wife, Diana; six children, Angela, William (Alex), Lance, Brian, David and Michael; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one sister and three nephews. There will be no memorial service.