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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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