Guillermo E. Gonzalez Jr. ’54

Guillermo “Billy-Gonzo” Gonzalez died Sept. 23, 2014, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At Princeton, he was a history major, a member of Cap and Gown, and assistant editor of the Princeton Tiger.

After graduation, he entered the Navy and served on the USS Valley Forge for two years as an operations analyst with the Sixth Fleet. Following his discharge, he returned to Puerto Rico to help with the family business, Caribe Motors. He then joined Jim Ryder to organize Ryder Transportation, based in New Orleans. He returned to Puerto Rico to expand the business there with a fleet of more than 1,500 trucks and tractors. From this early beginning, many current trucking companies were launched.

Guillermo next joined with W.J. O’Neill to found Leaseway Transportation. In 1976, he served as a consultant to Prince Turki Al Faisal ’67 in Saudi Arabia. From 1976 to 1982, he was vice president and manager of the Centrocamiones Division of Ford Motor Co. In 1982, he co-founded Caremco Inc. and served as its chairman and CEO. That company evolved into Resort Transportation Services. Most of these companies survive to this day.

Guillermo is survived by his wife, Teresita; their children, Guillermo III, Tomas, Maritere, Miguel, and Margie; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. The class is honored by his service to our country.