William F. Bolger; Former Postmaster General

William F. Bolger, a former postmaster general who began his postal career as a clerk in 1941, died Monday after a heart attack. He was 66.

Bolger, who served as the nation’s top postal official from 1978 until 1984, died at Arlington Hospital in suburban Washington. He was transferred to the hospital in Arlington, Va., after suffering a heart attack July 28 in Omaha.

Bolger was the 65th postmaster general in a line of succession dating back to Benjamin Franklin in 1775. He served as deputy postmaster general and as postmaster general for the Northeast region before becoming the first career postal employee to become postmaster general.

The service achieved its first surplus in 34 years during Bolger’s tenure.

“Bill Bolger leaves an indelible imprint on the U.S. Postal Service and the American public he faithfully served,” said Postmaster General Anthony M. Frank. “He was a leader of great stature and boundless energy who brought a spirit of innovation and vision to this organization during critical times of change and challenge.”

Always checking on detail, Bolger was known to pick up a stack of complaint forms and call Post Office customers himself to straighten out their problems.

Bolger struggled with electronic mail, touchy labor-management relations and a growing volume that led him to push the nine-digit ZIP code. “Nobody likes numbers,” he said of the nine digits. “I don’t. But we have a choice. We can do without them and have our mail service more expensive.”

And, he admitted, “We don’t handle mail as well as we did 40 years ago.”

Jim Syers, president of the National Assn. of Postmasters, said, “History may record him as the outstanding postmaster general of all time.”

Bolger joined the old Post Office Department in 1941 as a clerk in the agency’s finance bureau.

After retiring, Bolger founded T-COM Systems Inc., a national business mailing system in Washington. He also served as president of the Air Transport Assn. of America.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, and two daughters. Funeral services were not announced.