IL HR1417

Bishop William Haven Bonner died on August 29, 2016; he was born September 13, 1921 in Blytheville, Arkansas to Eddie and Mattie Bonner and married Dorothy Mae Green on May 2, 1944.

Bonner began preaching at age 13, attended DuSable High School and Moody Bible Institute, and moved to Waukegan at age 16 where he became junior pastor of Hill Street Church of God in Christ.

In 1944 he was commissioned to establish a church in Aurora, became full-time pastor in 1949, and was consecrated as bishop of the Sixth Jurisdiction of Illinois in 1982.

Bonner served nationally as Co-Chairman of the National Finance Committee and Chairman of the Budgetary Committee of the Board of Bishops, and as senior bishop of the Midwest Region; the City of Aurora renamed the street where his church is located to "Bonner Avenue" in his honor.

The Illinois House of Representatives expresses sympathy for his passing and will present a memorial copy of this resolution to his family, including his wife Dorothy Mae and children Enyess, Willie Etta, Charles, and Dorothy.