Bishop Who Spent 72 Years as Preacher in Aurora Dies

AURORA, IL - William H. Bonner was first asked to preach when he was only 13 years old. He would go on to spend most of his adult life preaching for Mt. Olive Church of God in Christ in Aurora. .

Bonner, who was just a few weeks shy of his 95th birthday, died this past week. He is being remembered as an integral figure in Aurora and for his 68 years preaching at Mt Olive.

“I had the honor of working with Bishop Bonner in the community for more than 30 years, including all of my years as mayor,” Aurora Mayor Thomas J. Weisner said in a statement released Monday. “From neighborhood meetings to citywide forums, we could always depend on Bishop Bonner's presence and insight. On a personal level, he offered me counsel and advice over the years for which I am truly grateful.”

Bonner was born on Sept. 13, 1921 in Blytheville, Arkansas. He was the sixth child in a family of 18 and attended elementary schools in Kentucky and Missouri before continuing his education in Chicago at DuSable High School and the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

Bonner was first asked to preach when he was 13 years old and went on to become a youth pastor for the Hills Street Church of Christ in Waukegan. In 1944, Bonner received a commission to pastor in Aurora and in 1948, he and his congregation broke ground at Mt. Olive Church of God in Christ on Aurora’s east side.

Now, 68 years later, the church, which is located on Bonner Avenue, remains “an integral part of the global faith community,” according to a city of Aurora press release.

He was certainly a man of sincere faith and a man of direct action … Bishop Bonner lived life in such a way that his legacy will be spoken of in perpetuity,” Weisner said.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been set for Bonner.