Dr. William E. Bonnet, 86, of Skylake Sautee-Nacoochee, GA, died Friday, November 29, 2013 of renal failure at Habersham Medical Center in Demorest, GA.
Born in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania in 1927, Dr. Bonnet attended Abington High School and Drexel University, graduating in 1947 with a degree in Chemical Engineering.
He was a private in the Army before his discharge in 1945.
In 1948 he received his Masters in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware, where in 1950 he also received his Doctorate in Philosophy.
He started working for Sun Oil while he was still in college. He remained with Sun for over 30 years, his entire career, retiring in 1983 as the Director of Sciences and Technology. During his tenure at Sun he was granted numerous patents and awards in the field of petrochemical technology.
Dr. Bonnet held the office of Vice President of the American Petroleum Society, was a member of the American Chemical Society and both Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society.
Dr. Bonnet resided for many years in Media PA with his first wife, the former Jeanne Helen Brown, who predeceased him.
While at Sun, Dr. Bonnet traveled extensively but never had the time to appreciate the exotic locals in which he worked. After the death of his first wife, he decided to finally take time to travel without a business agenda. In 1997 he signed up for a trip to Morocco with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. As the group boarded a bus bound for the marketplace in Marrakech, Dr. Bonnet spied a vivacious woman sitting in a seat in the back. He quickly became her seatmate and remained next to her for the duration of the vacation. By the end of the trip, he was smitten. He married the former Elsie Tate in 1998. The success of that trip kindled a love of travel. He and his wife Elsie spent several years circling the globe.
While Dr. Bonnet lived the majority of his life in the Philadelphia area, his family originated in the South of France. He successfully traced his lineage to the town of Apt where his ancestors were well known fabricators of faience during the time of the French Revolution. He prized his collection of original pieces that came from his family's atelier.
Dr. Bonnet and his loving wife resided in Bend, Oregon and Sarasota, Florida before finally settling in Skylake in Northeastern Georgia.
He will be buried in the National Cemetery in Sarasota, Florida.
Whitfield Funeral Home, Baldwin, GA handled the arrangements.
An open house will be held on Friday, December 13, 2013 from 2 - 8 pm at his home, 567 Laurelwood in Skylake. Sautee-Nacoochee, Georgia.
Donations in memory may be made to Hospice of Northeast Georgia Medical Center at www.nghs.com.
Those wishing to express online condolences to the Bonnet family my do so by visiting www.whitfieldfuneralhomes.com
Announcement courtesy of Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel, Baldwin, Georgia. (706) 778-7123
