WILLIAM C. ROWLAND / 1921-2002

GTE president
preserved isle tradition

See also: Obituaries

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By Genevieve A. Suzuki
gsuzuki@starbulletin.com

William C. Rowland, 15th president of Hawaiian Telephone Co., died Sunday after a series of strokes. He was 80.

Rowland joined GTE in 1949 in Erie, Pa. He became president of GTE Hawaiian Tel in 1972, a year after the company was purchased by GTE.

While Rowland was president, Hawaiian Tel moved to its new Bishop Street headquarters, inaugurated its first two electronic central offices, opened the first Phone Mart at Moanalua Shopping Center and began using local artists' work for its phone book covers.

"Bill Rowland was a tough-minded businessman who presided over the company as it grew into the modern age," said Verizon Hawaii President Warren Haruki. "He was the first GTE person to come from the mainland to run the company (which GTE had acquired in 1967), and many people in the community were concerned that Hawaiian Tel would lose its traditional island characteristics. But Bill kept the management team in place and really became a part of the community."

GTE merged in 2000 with the Bell Atlantic Corp. and changed its name to Verizon.

Rowland also served on the board of directors for First Hawaiian Bank and was the president of the board of trustees of Hawaii Loa College, which later became Hawaii Pacific University.

In 1978, Rowland was promoted to west area president in Thousand Oaks, Calif. and then a year later became GTE telephone operations executive vice president in Stamford, Conn.

"He started out installing telephones and then was in charge of GTE operations worldwide," said his son Robert.

Rowland and his wife, Leah, returned to Hawaii in 1981 after he retired from GTE. "We had a son here, property here and we liked it here," said Leah, who was married to Rowland for 54 years.

From 1982 to 1995, Rowland was the president and chief executive officer of the Oceanic Institute, an aquaculture research organization.

Rowland was born Dec. 26, 1921, in New Castle, Pa. During World War II he served as a lieutenant in the 458th Bomb Group, stationed in England.

He received the Distinguished Flying Cross Award for flying 32 missions over Europe as a B-24 bomber pilot.

Rowland also flew aerial reconnaissance missions along the Iron Curtain during the Korean conflict from 1950 to 1952.

He is survived by wife Leah, sons Robert and Lawrence, sister Beryl and two grandchildren.

Private services will be at the Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe.