Cecil W. Bond Jr., retired SEPTA executive and bank vice president, has died at 87
For 25 years at SEPTA, he championed minority business owners and social diversity, and rose to assistant general manager of safety and security in 1993.
Cecil W. Bond Jr., 87, of Marlton, retired assistant general manager at SEPTA, former regional vice president and the first Black assistant commercial lending officer at Central Penn National Bank, business manager, and Army veteran, died Thursday, Oct. 9, of cholangiocarcinoma at his home.
Born in Chester, Mr. Bond joined SEPTA in 1983 as director of the Office of Civil Rights and, over 25 years, championed minority business owners and social diversity, and rose to assistant general manager of safety and security, revenue operations, and strategic business development in 1993. He was a numbers guy and a natural problem solver, said his wife, Linette, and he dealt with, among other things, thorny accident liability cases in the 1990s and equipment and construction problems in the 2000s.
“Cecil was a champion of change and impacted so many lives in a good way at SEPTA,” a former colleague said in an online tribute. Another former colleague said: “He was a gentleman and will help you with anything. … He was such a good person.”
His wife said: “He was a take-charge go-getter.”
As director of civil rights, Mr. Bond encouraged outsourcing transit authority contracts to minority-owned businesses. He organized training seminars for minority and female business owners, and told The Inquirer in 1988: “We want to tell them about the opportunities and to increase their awareness of how we do business and the process for awarding contracts.”
In 1989, he earned the Minority Business Advocate Award from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. In the 1990s, he served on the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Cultural Diversity Initiative council. He retired in 2008.
“He was astute, charismatic, and very professional,” his wife said. “He was a people magnet.”
Before SEPTA, Mr. Bond worked in 1970 as a management trainee and assistant cashier at Central Penn. He went on to be the bank’s first Black assistant commercial lending officer and completed executive graduate management programs at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.
As assistant vice president of commercial loans in 1974 and regional vice president in 1977, he managed a multimillion-dollar loan portfolio and negotiated financing agreements with the City of Philadelphia, the School District of Philadelphia, and other organizations. From 1980 to 1983, he was vice president and business manager for Broadcast Enterprises National Inc.
He joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in college at Morgan State University in Baltimore and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Military Police Corps in 1961. He received a regular Army commission later, earned two commendations, rose to captain, and qualified as a major before leaving the service in 1970.
“Cecil’s life was defined by his dedication to service, leadership, and family,” his family said in a tribute. “His legacy of perseverance, professionalism, and integrity will continue to inspire those who knew and loved him.”
Cecil Walton Bond Jr. was born Dec. 30, 1937. The eldest of six sons, he was active in leadership roles with the YMCA as a boy and a basketball star at Chester High School. He graduated in 1955 and earned a basketball scholarship to Morgan State.
In college, he was captain of the basketball team for two seasons and named “Mr. Physical Education” on Homecoming Day in 1960. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1961.
Mr. Bond married Andrea Coverdale in 1963, and they had a daughter, Tracy, and a son, Cecil III. After a divorce, he met Linette Hinson at a political event, and they married in 1986, had sons Devon and Denzel, and lived in Marlton.
Mr. Bond was optimistic, confident, and funny, his family said. He wore tailor-made suits and did not own even one pair of jeans, his wife said.
He enjoyed golf, exercise, and jazz. He doted on his children.
He and his wife were active at St. Matthew’s Baptist Church in Williamstown and Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia. They went out to dinner often and traveled to Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean, and elsewhere with their children, nieces, nephews, and other family members.
“It was a beautiful love story,” his wife said. “We did everything together, and we always had fun.”
In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Bond is survived by three granddaughters, a brother, his former wife, and other relatives. Four brothers and a grandson died earlier.
Services were held on Thursday, Oct. 23.
Donations in his name may be made to the Morgan State University Foundation, Class of 1961 Endowed Fund, 1700 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, Md. 21251.