William Edwin Banton

William “Bill” Banton, 97, of Delray Beach, FL died
April 16, 2023. He was born in Corvallis, Oregon.
As a teenager, he was able to get his carpentry
journeyman’s card from the skills his father taught
him. He used those skills to support his mother and
siblings after his father died when he was 16.
At 18, he joined the Navy and served his Country
proudly in WWII. He was trained to be one of four
radar/sonar technicians on the USS Putman because
after playing the trumpet in high school, he could
recognize musical tones. He saw active duty in
Okinawa on the USS Putnam which was one of five
Destroyers that survived all the Kamikaze pilots. One
of Bill’s jobs on board was to point out those pilots
and more than once his ship was struck.
After the war, he married Jessie Ellis, with whom he
had four children. After Jessie died, Bill married a
longtime friend of theirs, Janet “Joy” Banton in 2007.
Bill earned a Bachelors and Master’s degree in
Electrical Engineering with the help of the GI bill. He
also received a Master’s degree from the Sloan School
of Business at MIT when his employer, Western
Electric, selected him to attend.
He worked for Western Electric(now AT&T) for 26
years and held many positions with them. The
position he enjoyed the most was Director of
Engineering in North Andover, MA during the late 70’s.
During this time, he also served as president of the
Chamber of Commerce in Lawrence, MA dipping his
toe briefly into politics. He was asked to run for a
State seat, multiple times, but chose not to follow this
course so he could retire from Western Electric at 55
years of age.
After retiring from Western Electric, Bill taught briefly
at the University of New Hampshire as an Assistant
Professor of Engineering Technology.
He is survived by his wife, Joy Banton, of Delray
Beach, FL and her children, Stacie Woltmanof
Nashville, IN, Melissa Pennington of Cincinnati, OH,
and Henry Edwards of Washington, DC.
He is also survived by his daughter, Deborah Banton
of Hesperus, CO, his son, Thomas Banton of Fort
Lauderdale, FL, grandchildren Christopher Schneider
and Corey Schneider, both in Texas. He was
predeceased by his first wife, Jessie, his daughter,
Elizabeth “Libby” Schneider and his son, Steven.
A Celebration of Life will be held at St Joseph’s
Episcopal Church, 3300 Seacrest Blvd, Delray Beach,
FL on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 1:30.
Donations can be made directly to St, Joseph’s Church.