Obituary of William A. Bonner

William A. Bonner, 65, died on Thursday, December 28, 2006 on route to the hospital. He was born in Elizabeth and had lived in Scotch Plains and Roselle Park before moving to Warren 35 years ago. Mr. Bonner, founder and President of Crystallod, Inc. was a retiree of Bell Communications Research, (Bellcore) in Red Bank, NJ. He had 45 years of experience in the field of crystal growth; 24 years as a Member of the Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ and 8 years as a Technical Manager at Bellcore, following the divestiture of AT&T in 1984 through 1992. As a charter employee of Bellcore, Mr. Bonner was responsible for the initial design, construction and operation of the bulk single crystal research facility. Mr. Bonner held 12 patents, had authored or co-authored over 300 technical publications on crystal growth and related subjects and had been an invited lecturer at numerous technical conferences. He had held positions of Treasurer and President of the American Association for Crystal Growth and had been Chairman and on the Organizing Committee of several national and international conferences on crystal growth. He was a communicant of Our Lady of the Mount Church, Warren. Mr. Bonner was the recipient of the Jack Daniels Squire Award and enjoyed gardening, Atlantic City and traveling. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Arlene M. Farrington Bonner; his daughters, Laura A. Bonner of Warren; Sandra A. Kopet and her husband Matthew of Branchburg and his brother, Robert G. Bonner of Oakton, VA. The funeral will be held on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 9:30 am from Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung followed by a 10:15 a.m. Mass of Resurrection at Our Lady of the Mount Church, Warren. Interment will be at Somerset Hills Memorial Park, Basking Ridge. Visitation will be on Tuesday from 2-4 & 7-9 pm. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.