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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, U.S. Navy veteran Lyle Gordon Endicott was born on | ||||||
| 3 | December 7, 1921, exactly
20 years to the day before his | ||||||
| 4 | enlistment in the Navy and the attack on Pearl Harbor; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Lyle Endicott enlisted in the United States Navy | ||||||
| 6 | on December 7, 1941, a day now known as
Pearl Harbor Day; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Lyle Endicott heroically served as a fighter pilot | ||||||
| 8 | with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade
on the USS Steamer Bay | ||||||
| 9 | aircraft carrier in the Pacific during World War II; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, While deployed in the Pacific, Lyle Endicott | ||||||
| 11 | supported the invasions of Luzon Island,
Lingayen Gulf, Subic | ||||||
| 12 | Bay, Iwo Jima, and the Okinawa Islands; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, While on leave from the Navy, Lyle Endicott met | ||||||
| 14 | Elizabeth Ann "Annie" Piercy of Woodlawn
and married her after | ||||||
| 15 | only knowing each other two weeks; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Upon his discharge from the Navy, Lyle Endicott | ||||||
| 17 | and Annie decided to stay in Woodlawn,
where they opened a | ||||||
| 18 | small grocery store; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Their store began to grow, and the people of | ||||||
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| 1 | Woodlawn appreciated the
convenience of having a store in their | ||||||
| 2 | little village; they began to sell furniture out of their | ||||||
| 3 | grocery store and eventually opened up
Endicott Interiors, | ||||||
| 4 | running both the grocery store and the furniture store; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Eventually their furniture store grew so large | ||||||
| 6 | that it became one of the most
influential businesses in | ||||||
| 7 | Jefferson County, attracting customers from many miles; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, They were business owners known for being | ||||||
| 9 | gracious, generous, and models for the
entire community, | ||||||
| 10 | putting their faith first as the basis for their personal lives | ||||||
| 11 | and for their
business decisions; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, They were active leaders in the Woodlawn Christian | ||||||
| 13 | Church and longtime volunteers
in the Mt. Vernon Hospice | ||||||
| 14 | organization and were both honored as Senior Saints for | ||||||
| 15 | Jefferson
County; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Lyle Endicott also flew as a company pilot for the | ||||||
| 17 | Self Oil Company, where he continued to
be one of the most | ||||||
| 18 | experienced and revered pilots in Southern Illinois and was | ||||||
| 19 | able to
teach many young pilots how to fly; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Lyle Endicott was happily married for 72 years to | ||||||
| 21 | Annie prior to her death in 2016;
they raised one son, Stanton, | ||||||
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| 1 | and one daughter, Vicki; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 3 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 4 | we commend Lyle Gordon Endicott for his unwavering service to | ||||||
| 5 | our nation in the United States Navy and for his contributions | ||||||
| 6 | to the economy and people of Woodlawn; and be it further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 8 | presented to Lyle Endicott as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 9 | esteem.
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