Billy Boles
Encyclopedia
William Russell Boles, Sr., known as Billy Boles (April 30, 1927 – August 16, 2008), was a Monroe
attorney
and banker who, at twenty-four, served a single term in the Louisiana State Senate
. He represented his native Richland as well as neighboring Franklin and Catahoula parishes in northeastern Louisiana
from 1952 to 1956, during the administration of Governor
Robert F. Kennon
, his fellow Democrat
. Boles succeeded and preceded the pro-Long
state senator, Ralph E. King, Sr., a physician
from Winnsboro
, the seat of Franklin Parish.
Boles was born on Louisiana Statehood Day to Vernon and Ruth Boles in Rayville
, the seat of Richland Parish, located east of Monroe. He attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe
(then Northeast Junior College) on a basketball
scholarship and then served eighteen months in the United States Navy
. Thereafter, he procured his Bachelor of Arts
from Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
, the seat of Lincoln Parish. He was student body president of his law class at Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge.
Boles and a close friend, State Senator Jamar Adcock
of Monroe (service: 1960-1972), co-founded what is now Regions Bank of North Louisiana, originally the American Bank in Monroe. Adcock and Boles also started Fidelity Bank in Slidell
, the Colonial Bank in New Orleans, and Progressive Bank in Metairie in Jefferson Parish. They bought into the former Bossier Bank and Trust Company in Bossier City and the Jena Bank in Jena
in La Salle Parish. Boles met Adcock when they were LSU students. Their First Fidelity Mortgage Company was later part of Chase
.
Known for his close ties to important Louisiana politician
s, including Governor
s John J. McKeithen
and Edwin Washington Edwards, Boles was in 2004 inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
. At the time of his death, Boles was semi-retired in Monroe in the practice of law with his son, William Boles, Jr. (born 1956).
Boles was married until his death for sixty years to the former Mary Catherine Furlow (ca. 1928-2010), a native of Elizabeth
in Allen Parish
, Louisiana, and the daughter of Adelaide and John Furlow. She was Roman Catholic. The couple is remembered for their philanthropy
through the Catherine and William R. "Billy" Boles Terrace on the seventh floor of the library
at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
In addition to his wife, Boles left behind three daughters and a son: Linda Boles Campbell (born 1949) and husband George M. Campbell, Sr. (1948) of Monroe, Diane Boles Kirtland (born 1951) and husband Walter Kirtland (born 1946) of Baton Rouge, attorney Janet Boles Crawford (born 1954) and husband, Baton Rouge attorney-lobbyist Scott Holland Crawford (born 1953), originally from Minden
in Webster Parish, and attorney William R. Boles, Jr., and wife Christine R. Boles of Monroe. Boles had eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services were to be held on August 19 in the First Baptist
Church of West Monroe
, with entombment in Mulhearn Memorial Park Mausoleum
.
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and banker who, at twenty-four, served a single term in the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. He represented his native Richland as well as neighboring Franklin and Catahoula parishes in northeastern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
from 1952 to 1956, during the administration of Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Robert F. Kennon
Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
, his fellow Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Boles succeeded and preceded the pro-Long
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
state senator, Ralph E. King, Sr., a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
from Winnsboro
Winnsboro, Louisiana
Winnsboro is a city in and the parish seat of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of July 2009, the estimated city population was 4,377...
, the seat of Franklin Parish.
Boles was born on Louisiana Statehood Day to Vernon and Ruth Boles in Rayville
Rayville, Louisiana
Rayville is a town in, the parish seat of, and the largest community in Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,234 at the 2000 census. It is also home of Palmetto Addiction Recovery Center...
, the seat of Richland Parish, located east of Monroe. He attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
(then Northeast Junior College) on a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
scholarship and then served eighteen months in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Thereafter, he procured his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, the seat of Lincoln Parish. He was student body president of his law class at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge.
Boles and a close friend, State Senator Jamar Adcock
Jamar Adcock
Jamar William Adcock was a high-profile banker and a Democratic state senator from Monroe, Louisiana, who served from 1960 to 1972...
of Monroe (service: 1960-1972), co-founded what is now Regions Bank of North Louisiana, originally the American Bank in Monroe. Adcock and Boles also started Fidelity Bank in Slidell
Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
, the Colonial Bank in New Orleans, and Progressive Bank in Metairie in Jefferson Parish. They bought into the former Bossier Bank and Trust Company in Bossier City and the Jena Bank in Jena
Jena, Louisiana
Jena is a town in and the parish seat of La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,971 at the 2000 census.In September 2006, Jena became the focus of national news stories in the United States for a racial controversy involving its school system and a group of students known...
in La Salle Parish. Boles met Adcock when they were LSU students. Their First Fidelity Mortgage Company was later part of Chase
Chase (bank)
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
.
Known for his close ties to important Louisiana politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, including Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s John J. McKeithen
John McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...
and Edwin Washington Edwards, Boles was in 2004 inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
. At the time of his death, Boles was semi-retired in Monroe in the practice of law with his son, William Boles, Jr. (born 1956).
Boles was married until his death for sixty years to the former Mary Catherine Furlow (ca. 1928-2010), a native of Elizabeth
Elizabeth, Louisiana
Elizabeth is a town in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 574 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elizabeth is located at ....
in Allen Parish
Allen Parish, Louisiana
Allen Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Oberlin. As of the 2000 census, the population was 25,440. Allen Parish is in southwestern Louisiana, southwest of Alexandria....
, Louisiana, and the daughter of Adelaide and John Furlow. She was Roman Catholic. The couple is remembered for their philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
through the Catherine and William R. "Billy" Boles Terrace on the seventh floor of the library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
In addition to his wife, Boles left behind three daughters and a son: Linda Boles Campbell (born 1949) and husband George M. Campbell, Sr. (1948) of Monroe, Diane Boles Kirtland (born 1951) and husband Walter Kirtland (born 1946) of Baton Rouge, attorney Janet Boles Crawford (born 1954) and husband, Baton Rouge attorney-lobbyist Scott Holland Crawford (born 1953), originally from Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
in Webster Parish, and attorney William R. Boles, Jr., and wife Christine R. Boles of Monroe. Boles had eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services were to be held on August 19 in the First Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church of West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, with entombment in Mulhearn Memorial Park Mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
.