Witness Post: Robert O. Bonnell, Jr.

Robert O. Bonnell, Jr. pictured between his parents (Robert O. Bonnell, Sr. and Hettie Hazlett) [3]

Witness Post: Robert O. Bonnell, Jr.

Robert O. Bonnell Jr., a businessman and former Navy fighter pilot, died on Oct. 25, 2018, of respiratory failure. A long-term resident of Roland Park Place, the care facility, Bonnell was 93.[1]

“At 93, I think he just decided it was time to go,” said his wife, Barbara Johnson Bonnell.

Robert Owen Bonnell, Jr. was born the day before Independence Day, July 3, 1925 in Denver, Colorado. He was the eldest child to Robert Owen Bonnell, Sr. and Hettie Hazlett. The elder Bonnell was a banker, who later became chairman of the Maryland State Roads Commission, and Ms. Hazlett was a social worker and community activist.

In 1930, the Bonnell family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where the young Bonnell attended Roland Park Public School and then the Gilman School. During World War II, with the help of the U.S. Marine Corps, he studied at Yale for two years, before attending the U.S. Naval Academy. Bonnell was enrolled in the class of 1947, where he was classmates with future President Jimmy Carter and future CIA Director Stansfield Turner.

Jimmy Carter at Naval Academy and as 39th President of the United States

“Bob always had the erect posture of a Naval Academy person,” said Mrs. Bonnell.

After serving in the Navy, flying jets from aircraft carriers, Mr. Bonnell began his business career in the 1950s with a job at New York Life Insurance. He then sold insurance at the American Health & Life Insurance Company, which through mergers, became part of Commercial Credit Corp (CCC).

In 1966, he married Mrs. Bonnell, who was then working for the Greater Baltimore Committee to rebuild the Charles Center. The couple went on their first date to Marconi’s, a famous Italian restaurant in Baltimore at the time. Barbara said she was drawn to Bob’s optimistic attitude and positive approach to life.

“I think he was one of the most optimistic and positive-thinking people I’ve ever known,” said Bonnie Cunningham, his eldest daughter from a previous marriage, which ended in divorce. As a father, he had a playful side, doing gymnastics with his children in the living room and dancing like Fred Astaire for their enjoyment, she said.

Armold Palmer (left) with Bonnell (right) in 1978 [3]

In addition, Mr. Bonnell was an avid golfer, playing at Elkridge Country Club and winning several championships. He was honored by Arnold Palmer for his support of youth golf, according to his son, Robert O. Bonnell III, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“If my dad hadn’t gone into business he would have been playing professional golf,” said the younger Mr. Bonnell.

While working in the business world, he used the golf course as his “desk,” an opportunity for camaraderie and networking, family members said.

His networking skills took him to meet with the former President of American Express, Sanford Weill, who had just been side-stepped for the Chief Executive role at Bank of America, Inc. Bonnell persuaded Weill to step in as Chairman of Commercial Credit Corp. Weill agreed and artfully navigated the separation of CCC from its parent company at the time, Control Data Corp. The separation complete, Weill used the new position and the company liquidity as a springboard to many mergers and acquisitions. These transactions brought Weill back to Wall Street as the captain of insurance and deal making he always believed himself to be. The conglomerate he built was later known as Travelers Group, Inc. and then Citigroup, Inc.[2]

The Bonnells enjoyed many exotic trips, including one to the Soviet Union in the 1970s with their daughter, Lila. They regularly sojourned in Paris, and had adventures in Egypt, Kenya, Turkey and even Antarctica.

Mr. Bonnell once traveled to India, where he had a chance meeting with Mother Teresa, family members said. He had been sitting in a room on the floor when the revered Catholic leader passed through.

“When she walked past my dad, she stopped and turned back and took him by the hand and looked into his eyes,” said his son. “And my dad said at that moment, ‘I saw Jesus Christ in her eyes.’ … Every time he would tell the story he would break down into tears uncontrollably.”

The encounter remained an ever-present memory, and helped ignite his passion for service, according to his family members.

After he retired from the business world, Mr. Bonnell was appointed by Mayor William Donald Schaefer to be head of Baltimore’s Society of Executive Retired Volunteers, which matched former business people with struggling nonprofits.

“His main interest was in Baltimore City and in helping nonprofits succeed,” said Mrs. Bonnell.

He worked with many different organizations in the city but was particularly proud of one project called the Educational Opportunity Program at Lake Clifton-Eastern High School, which he developed with Maryland state Sen. Nathaniel McFadden. The program, which offered $5,000 scholarships to students, was covered in a 1990 article in The Baltimore Sun.

“Resources do make a difference,” Mr. Bonnell told The Sun. “Learning is not so much about race or economic background as it is the availability and application of resources.”

Barbara & Robert Bonnell (photo taken at Roland Park Place, 2015) [3]

Mr. Bonnell seemed always on the lookout for ways to help people, his family said. When he and his wife moved to Roland Park Place, a retirement community, Mr. Bonnell learned that many of the residents in the nursing facility suffered from a lack of interaction with people. Mr. Bonnell organized a committee to bring sick residents their mail, ensuring they saw people’s faces every day.

“He would see a need and he would come up with some interesting solution,” said Mrs. Bonnell.

In addition to Mrs. Bonnell, his son, Robert, and his daughter, Lila, Mr. Bonnell is survived by daughters Elizabeth Yates of Reston, Va., and Sarah Bonnell Kruger of Marietta, Ga., 13 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His ashes will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in 2019.

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References:

[1] The obituary of Robert Owen Bonnell, Jr. was recorded in The Baltimore Sun and originally published on November 4, 2018.

[2] The relationship between Mr. Bonnell with Sandy Weill was written by Henry E. Hooper, a family friend and Witness Post writer. Hooper gathered the content from a conversation with Mr. Bonnell at his private residence in 1988. Bonnell described the rise and fall of CCC, the Bonnell employment history and connection, and the Weill influence on insurance and Wall Street.

[3] Images of Mr. Bonnell and family were from a private collection by Sara Bonnell Kruger.