Billy Boles

Who was Billy Boles?

William Russell Boles, Sr., known as Billy Boles, 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 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. K Boles and a close friend, State Senator Jamar Adcock of Monroe, co-founded what is now Regions Bank of North Louisiana, originally the American Bank in Monroe.