Ignacia Bordallo Butler (died 1993) was a Chamorro businesswoman and entrepreneur from

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

who introduced

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

to the island with her husband Chester Butler.

Biography

Ignacia was the daughter of Baltazar Bordallo, a Spanish immigrant to Guam, and Pangelinan from the village of Sumay. She attended high school in the Philippines and returned to Guam at the age of 17. A year later, Ignacia married Chester Butler, a sailor from

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The two moved to Hagåtña, where they started a dry goods store called Butler's Emporium in 1936. The business specialized in bringing in goods that were previously not available in Guam, especially soft drinks like Coca-Cola. When Chester Butler was taken to Japan as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ignacia continued running the store throughout the Japanese occupation, as well another store, a warehouse, and a movie theater. She also resisted the Japanese occupiers by hiding the emporium's goods and keeping radio operators in touch with American news outlets to keep them updated on the situation in Guam. Despite Butler's Emporium being destroyed by American bombardments of the island in 1944, family land being seized for use as military installations, and Chester passing away from pancreatic cancer in 1952, Ignacia reconsolidated the business and kept operating it in the post-war years. She moved to its current location in Sinajana and reincorporated it as Butler, Inc. Ignacia continued to operate the business until her retirement in 1982, when she moved to California where she lived until her death in 1993 at the age of 95.

Legacy

Ignacia was inducted into the Guam Business Hall of Fame in 1996, and was recognized as the "Grandlady of Business" on the 100th anniversary of Butler, Inc. in 2015. A photo exhibit was opened at the Guam Congress Building in 2019 that focused on women in Guam's history which included Ignacia Butler, and she was also featured in a book on the same topic titled ''Famalao’an Guahan: Women in Guam History.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Ignacia Bordallo Chamorro people Coca-Cola bottlers 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople 1993 deaths Year of birth missing