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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate William Eugene Nelson on
4the occasion of his 95th birthday; and
 
5    WHEREAS, William Nelson was born in Rockford on March 25,
61920; he attended Rockford grade schools before relocating to
7Chicago and becoming part of the first graduating class at Lane
8Tech High School in 1938, where he played first base for the
9baseball team; he graduated from the Chicago School of Pharmacy
10and married Ramona Davis on November 28, 1942 and had 5
11children, Dale, Karen, Connie, Bill, and Eric; in 1943, he
12entered the United States Navy and was deployed in the Pacific
13Theater; he played baseball for the Rockford Foresters; and
 
14    WHEREAS, William Nelson worked as a salesman for the Wyeth
15pharmaceutical company until 1949; he then bought Trulson Drug
16Store in Princeton and opened Nelson Drug at its South Main
17Street location on August 1, 1949; his brother, Bob, joined him
18in 1960 and worked at Nelson Drug for 12 years until leaving to
19open his own store; Williams's son, Billy, also worked at
20Nelson Drug for 20 years; and
 
21    WHEREAS, William Nelson retired on October 27, 2012 after
22operating Nelson Drug for 63 years - the longest operating

 

 

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1business on Main Street in Princeton; he might possibly rank as
2the most senior "full-time, owner/operator pharmacist in North
3America"; and
 
4    WHEREAS, William Nelson served on the Princeton City
5Council from 1967 to 1979 and as the Mayor of Princeton from
61980 to 1988; he was the Grand Marshal of the Homestead Parade
7in Princeton in 2003 and was awarded the Illinois Pharmacists
8Association Lifetime Achievement award in 2009; and
 
9    WHEREAS, William Nelson is a life-long Chicago Cubs fan and
10once met Lou Gerig; he enjoys golfing and has achieved 2
11holes-in-one; and
 
12    WHEREAS, William Nelson married Judith (nee Ruch)
13Struthers on March 18, 1995 and gained 2 step-sons, Jason and
14James; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
17congratulate William Eugene Nelson on his 95th birthday and
18wish him many more wonderful years; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to William Nelson as an expression of our esteem and
21respect.