John D. deButts

After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, where he studied electrical engineering. He received a bachelor's degree in 1936. He served as president of Illinois Bell.^[2] From 1972 to 1979, he served as chairman and CEO of AT&T.^[1][2][3] He objected to the United States federal government's antitrust efforts to break up AT&T.^[2][3] In 1984, he was dismayed by the decision to break up the Bell System's twenty-three operating companies.^[3]

In 1976, deButts received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.^[4]

He served as chairman of The Business Council from 1977 to 1978.^[5]

He resided in a family farm in Upperville, Virginia.^[1] He died of a heart attack in Winchester, Virginia, on December 18, 1986.^[1]