Full Text of HR1417 99th General Assembly
HR1417 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bishop | 4 | | William Haven Bonner, who passed away on August 29, 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bishop William Bonner was born on September 13, | 6 | | 1921 in Blytheville, Arkansas; his parents were Eddie and | 7 | | Mattie Bonner; he married Dorothy Mae Green on May 2, 1944; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Bishop William Bonner attended elementary school | 9 | | in Kentucky and Missouri and later attended DuSable High School | 10 | | and the Moody Bible Institute; he began preaching at the age of | 11 | | 13 and played his guitar and preached at churches in | 12 | | Charleston, Caruthersville, and Sikeston, Missouri; at the age | 13 | | of 16, he moved to Waukegan, where he later became the junior | 14 | | pastor and Young People Willing Workers president of the Hill | 15 | | Street Church of God in Christ; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1944, at the age of 21, Bishop William Bonner | 17 | | was commissioned to establish a church in Aurora; in 1950, he | 18 | | and his wife moved to Aurora and he began working at Illinois | 19 | | Cleaners to support his family; in 1949, he became a full-time | 20 | | pastor and led his congregation in building a small church; he | 21 | | later became a member of Central Illinois and was appointed | 22 | | District Superintendent of the Northwestern District, Chairman |
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| 1 | | of the Board of Superintendents, First Administrative | 2 | | Assistant, and State Expeditor; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, After working for Bishop L.H. Ford for 19 years, | 4 | | Bishop William Bonner established a fellowship called "We as | 5 | | Laborers"; he later began working with Bishop H. W. Goldsberry | 6 | | of the Sixth Jurisdiction of Illinois, where he became an | 7 | | Administrative Assistant; in 1982, he was consecrated as bishop | 8 | | of the Sixth Jurisdiction of Illinois; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Bishop William Bonner was involved with the | 10 | | national Church of God in Christ; he served as Co-Chairman of | 11 | | the National Finance Committee and as Chairman of the Budgetary | 12 | | Committee of the Board of Bishops; he also served as senior | 13 | | bishop of the Midwest Region and expeditor of the Board of | 14 | | Bishops; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Bishop William Bonner was given many honors and | 16 | | awards for his work, including an honorary doctorate from the | 17 | | Trinity Hall Theological Seminary, a Friends of Marie Wilkinson | 18 | | Child Development Center Award, and a Distinguished Black | 19 | | Community Leadership Award, among others; the City of Aurora | 20 | | renamed the street that his church sits on to "Bonner Avenue" | 21 | | in honor of his work in the community; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Bishop William Bonner will be dearly missed by his |
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| 1 | | wife, Dorothy Mae; his children, Enyess, Willie Etta, Charles, | 2 | | and Dorothy; and the members of his congregation; therefore, be | 3 | | it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of | 7 | | Bishop William Haven Bonner; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the family of Bishop William Bonner as an | 10 | | expression of our sympathy.
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