TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF WILLIAM "BILLY" BONAPARTE. JR.
WHEREAS, in His infinite wisdom, God has called William Bonaparte, Jr., a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather as well as an outstanding and enterprising business leader, to his eternal rest on May 25, 2019, and
WHEREAS, on December 11,1942, Billy Bonaparte started his journey on Chicago's South Side neighborhood of Princeton Park as the second eldest of 6 children. In his earliest days, his father instilled a strong work ethic and, at the age of 12, he began his first career delivering newspapers every morning before he started school. He attended Gillespie Elementary, a Chicago Public School where he was fortunate enough to have as his seventh-grade teacher the legendary African- American educator Dr. Barbara Sizemore, who recognized and encouraged his potential. Billy began his exploration of the world through books and spent many evenings curled up in a closet with any book he could find; and
WHEREAS, in 1961, William Bonaparte, Jr. joined the United States Army where he served as a Field Engineer. After his discharge, he went to work for Illinois Bell Telephone Company in 1963 as the African American PBX (Private Business Exchange) installer ever hired by the company. Five years later he was promoted to foreman of operations in the Loop. By 1971, Bonaparte was working in a management role and attending the Milwaukee School of Engineering where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1976. In 1984, Bonaparte left Illinois Bell for AT&T, where he became area manager of Chicago south services and, in 1985, won the corporation's Keystone Award for Excellence, the highest honor bestowed upon a management employee; and
WHEREAS, sensing the business opportunities created by the anti-trust court-ordered breakup of the Bell System, Billy retired from AT&T in 1986 and formed Bonaparte Connection, supplying communication connectivity services to the business community. In 1991, he founded Bo...
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