Schools
Mills Dedicates Blue Spruce to Ex-Student and San Bruno Fire Victim
Congresswoman Jackie Speier dedicated a blue spruce to the memory of former Mills High School student William Bullis, who perished in the San Bruno PG&E gas explosion.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, and community members dedicated a blue spruce at on Saturday to the memory of former student William Bullis.
Bullis, as well as his father Gregory and grandmother Lavonne, were among the eight people who died in the Sept. 9, 2010 PG&E explosion and the ensuing fire in San Bruno.
In memory, Mills High dedicated part of their annual Arbor Day ceremony in his honor. A crowd of nearly 100 friends, teachers, school trustees, city officials from Millbrae and San Bruno, firefighters and well-wishers were present for the school’s fourth annual Arbor Day activities, which have planted over 100 trees so far—with sequoia and red maples to be added this year.
This year a plaque was also planted, dedicating a blue spruce to the memory of Bullis.
“We wanted to honor William,” said Mills High Principal Paul Belzer. “He discovered courage by his dedication to insistence.”
Speier thanked the crowd for coming and for their dedication to the school and the community, while speaking of the tragedy of the losses of the Bullis family.
“It’s fitting, a blue spruce is a tree that grows for 400 to 600 years, is thick and it provides great shelter for students,” said Speier, “They will be able to take shelter under that tree and reflect.”
Bullis' mother also spoke to the crowd about her son.
Find out what's happening in Millbraefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“The way he came into life was as unique as the way he lived his life,” said Sue Bullis, after recounting the birth of an 11.5 pound, 22 inch baby.
She went on to tell the crowd of an accident in which her son broke a foot and consequently developed complex regional pain syndrome—and the excruciating pain he had to overcome in order to simply continue going to school.
“He learned to divert himself from it, to focus on what was important to him,” said Bullis.
She said he loved cooking, and recounted that two days before her son died, he told her where he he was going to go for culinary training.
“I hope you remember my son for his courage, commitment and his persistence,” she said.