Michael Fullerton at Toby’s Feed Barn in Point Reyes Station in 2015. Credit: Sandy Horwich
Best known as the longtime co-editor of the Co-op News, the weekly newspaper of the Berkeley Co-op, Michael Fullerton lived in Berkeley for more than 60 years and was active in the community and in electoral politics, as well as the cooperative movement.
Michael died on Jan. 5, at age 85, from complications of cancer. He told his wife, Sandy, to be sure that his obituary included his work on Ron Dellums’s first Congressional campaign in 1970, when Dellums ran on an anti-Vietnam war platform.
Michael was born in 1940 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where his parents, Bud (Reginald) and Cleo Fullerton had met in a university chemistry class. The family moved to Napa, then a small town, when Michael was 2 years old, and his father began work as a machinist in Vallejo in the war industry. Michael’s two beloved sisters, Pat and Mary, were born when he was a teenager, and they remained close throughout his life.
After graduating from Napa High as valedictorian, Michael went to Stanford on a full scholarship, majoring in philosophy. He credited two quarters spent abroad in the Stanford-in-France program as a life-changing experience, as he lived and traveled in Europe, which sparked his interest in politics and made him a lifelong progressive. When he returned through New York City, a woman on the subway complained about his France-acquired beard: “Who do you think you are, Fidel Castro?” That interchange made him decide to retain the beard.
Michael, Sandy and their son Blair in 1992. Credit: Patti Fullerton
After graduating Stanford in 1962, he went to UC Berkeley to complete course requirements for pre-med, with an interest in psychiatry. He was admitted to medical school but switched to philosophy in graduate school at UC Berkeley.
In 1964, Michael participated in the Free Speech Movement, sitting around the police car to stop it from taking protester Jack Weinberg away in it, and also when Mario Savio gave his famous speech.
He and his first wife, Mary Ann Forrest, joined the Peace Corps in 1965, trained in New York City, and were placed at a school in rural Kenya. For two years, Michael taught math and science and coached basketball. This service remained vivid to him, and he maintained close friendships with Peace Corps colleagues.
After returning from the Peace Corps, Michael taught math as a substitute teacher at Berkeley High and for a school year at a junior high in Castro Valley. Becoming more politically involved, he registered voters at a table in front of the Co-op grocery stores in the mid-1970s when the Co-op reached its peak with 13 supermarkets. He also began writing movie reviews for Grassroots, the newspaper of the progressive Berkeley Citizens Action (BCA). The then editor of the weekly Co-op News enjoyed those reviews and asked Michael to replace him when he went on vacation. This led to Michael becoming the Co-op News co-editor in 1976, a job he shared until all the Berkeley Co-op stores closed and the newspaper ceased publishing in 1989. Michael then edited the book “What Happened to the Berkeley Co-op? A Collection of Opinions,” published in 1992.
In summers Michael attended Co-op Camp Sierra, a family camp of the cooperative movement in California that still exists after 85 years. One year for the camp fundraising carnival, he donned a Marilyn Monroe t-shirt, reflective sunglasses, and an orange bucket hat to become The New Age Guru, answering any question for a ticket. Young people stood giggling around his booth, dreaming up questions they thought would stump him, not anticipating his philosophical answers. In years since, he would appear in this persona at his annual birthday brunch.
Michael met his second wife, Sandy Horwich, in 1981 at a group dinner. She was then a community-based lawyer in Richmond who happened to advertise in the Co-op News. Having both spent time in Africa, love for the continent was one thing that drew them together. In 1984, they spent six months on leave from work to travel around the world: Singapore, Sumatra, Thailand, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), India (to visit friends), Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, and England. This was one of their many trips, including those to Chicago to visit Sandy’s parents, brother, and sister-in-law and their two sons.
After living together for 8 years, Michael and Sandy married, in 1990, and adopted their son Blair at birth in 1992 in an open adoption when Michael was 51 and Sandy was 43. He later said that having Blair opened the world to him in a way he’d never expected. There were all the things they did together in Tilden: As he jogged, he pushed Blair in a red jogging stroller gifted by his running group. They fed the Little Farm animals, rode the steam train and the carousel, and engaged in all sorts of ranger activities like taking New Year’s Eve walks in the dark. Blair shared Michael’s interest in classic cars, and there were Cal Day activities, like Fun with Physics, a professor’s talk and demo that they often attended. There were also trips to the Napa Town and Country Fair and watching fireworks at the foot of Gilman on July 4.
After the collapse of the Berkeley Co-op, Michael took an editor job at UC Berkeley Extension where he worked from 1992 until his retirement in 2005, writing and editing copy for catalogs, brochures, display ads, and serving as managing editor of the catalog for two years.
Michael Fullerton in Northern California in the 1980s. Credit: Sandy Horwich
After retiring from UC, Michael tutored math after school at King Middle School and privately one-on-one with middle and high school students, work and connections he found deeply satisfying. Math remained a major interest for Michael, and he was quick to tell friends and family math facts about their age, especially its relationship to prime numbers.
He was a man with many interests, always wanting to add to his knowledge: art, music, movies, politics, economics, Berkeley and other city issues, history, nature, science, ecology, philosophy, TV.
Long and deep friendships were a hallmark of his life — with friends dating back to his Napa youth, Stanford and Cal, the Peace Corps, the Co-op, those he met through Sandy, and more—friendships that lasted until the end of his life. He also played an important role with forming and facilitating groups. Some 20 years ago, he organized a book club with four others that will continue, as well as luncheon reunions with Peace Corps volunteers from Kenya. Among the adjectives people have used to describe him: generous, gentle, kind, calm, caring, warm, interesting, great sense of humor, smart, wise, dry wit, brave, thoughtful.
Michael had been having health problems for several years, but his condition worsened with a diagnosis of a rare form of cancer in early 2024. Despite his illness, he continued to be as active as possible and continued to find joy in life. He remained connected to his book club and other groups mostly through Zoom, and even attended online Berkeley Adult School classes and enjoyed a KPFA Sunday music show as he did listening to audiobooks and streaming movies. He kept up with the local, U.S. and world news. Though he could no longer do political work, he still called officials and wrote letters to the editor on different issues. And most Sunday mornings, he went with Sandy to their walking group at Cesar Chavez park, even when he could only sit on a bench and chat and take in the Bay. He visited with friends until his very last days: on the phone, in person, on Zoom. He often said, “I’ve lived a good life.” Sandy and Blair cared for Michael at home until the last two months when he was hospitalized and then needed to move to a skilled nursing facility. As Sandy says, “The Chicago Jewish woman and small-town gentile Napa boy just worked out, and we always expressed our love. He and Blair always did too.”
Michael and Blair at Cesar Chavez Park in 2024. Credit: Sandy Horwich
Michael is survived by his wife, Sandy, and son Blair Fullerton; his sisters, Mary Fullerton and Patti Fullerton of Napa; his brother- and sister-in-law, Julian and Evey Horwich of Highland Park, Illinois; his niece and nephews and their families. He is also survived by many close friends.
The family would like to thank his wonderful healthcare providers, too numerous to name. Special thanks to Lloyd Ferris, who came as a caregiver in 2025 and became a friend. Thanks to the warm and attentive staff at Chaparral House who enabled him to have quality of life and a peaceful death. And with great appreciation to the family, friends, and neighbors who supported Michael, Sandy, and Blair during the last two years and his last two months in so many ways.
A celebration of his life will be held later this year; for more information, you can email sandyj1@mac.com. If you wish to donate in his honor, the family suggests Sierra Club or another environmental organization, or an organization supporting LGBTQ+ rights, such as Oasis Legal Services in Berkeley.
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