HR0274

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of retired 
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Judge and former State Representative Rolland F. Tipsword of 
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Taylorville, who passed away on April 5, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He was born August 19, 1925, in Monticello, the 
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son of Leo Clemit and Jossie Banning Fortner Tipsword; he 
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graduated from Beecher City Community Unit High School in 1943 
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and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Idaho in 
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1949, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity; he 
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graduated with honors from Northwestern University School of 
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Law in Chicago in 1951; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in September 
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of 1951;

Mr. Tipsword served as Clerk to Illinois Supreme Court 
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Justice Harry Hershey from the years 1951 to 1954 and 1957 to 
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1960; he later became an associate partner in the Hershey & 
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Bliss Law Firm; he served as Christian County State's Attorney 
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during the years of 1960 to 1966; he was a partner in the 
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Tipsword & Fraley Law Firm, which later became the Coale, 
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Taylor, Tipsword, Fraley & Doyle Law Firm;

and
 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Tipsword was elected to the Illinois House of 
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Representatives, serving Districts 50 and 51 during the years 
 


 






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1966 to 1979; he served as Circuit Judge, 4th Judicial District 
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of Illinois from 1983 to 1993; he served on the Illinois 
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Supreme Court Committee to prepare first Illinois pattern jury 
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instructions; he was elected as a delegate to the 1980 
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Democratic National Convention; he was Past President of the 
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Christian County, Illinois Bar Association; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Judge Tipsword was extremely active in the Grand 
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Chapter Order of the Eastern Star of Illinois and the Grand 
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Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Illinois; he 
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received the Meritorious Service Award in 1975 and the 33rd 
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Degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the Northern Masonic 
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Jurisdiction in 1977; he also served as Worthy Grand Patron of 
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the Order of the Eastern Star in 1970; he was a member of the 
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Haslemere Chapter 221 in Taylorville, and a member of the White 
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Shrine of Jerusalem in Springfield; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Rolland Tipsword was a member of the First 
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Presbyterian Church, where he served as a past Deacon and 
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Elder; he was a member of Taylorville Elks Club, Taylorville 
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Eagles Club, Taylorville Moose Club, American Legion, and the 
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VFW; he was a charter member of the Taylorville Kiwanis Club; 
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and he served in the United States Navy, Pacific Theatre, 
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during the years of 1942 to 1946; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Tipsword never married; surviving are several 
 


 






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cousins; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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mourn, along with his family, friends, and the people of the 
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City of Taylorville, the passing of Rolland Tipsword and extend 
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our sincere condolences to all who knew him at this time; and 
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be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the Coale, Taylor, Tipsword, Fraley & Doyle Law 
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Firm as a symbol of our sympathy.