SR2458 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR2458 LRB099 24117 MST 51791 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of John Dale Stobbs, who passed away on November 23, 2016; and

WHEREAS, John Stobbs was born in Alton to John and Myrtle (Uphoff) Stobbs on November 28, 1932; he graduated from St. Mary's Grade School and Marquette High School in Alton, where he was class president; during his junior year at Marquette, he was elected to be the national president of Junior Achievement, and during his senior year he traveled throughout the country in that capacity; he earned a scholarship to St. Louis University, where he received his undergraduate and law degrees in 1956 with honors; he received his Master of Laws from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1958; during law school, he served on the Law Journal and was a member of the Order of the Coif; he married Mary DeCicco in Washington, D.C. on November 28, 1959; and

WHEREAS, John Stobbs enlisted in the United States Air Force and served in the Judge Advocate General Corps until his retirement as a full Colonel in 1989; he attended and completed studies at the prestigious Air War College in Huntsville, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, John Stobbs worked for the United States Department of Justice, where his first case reached the United States Supreme Court; after working for several years as a trial attorney with the Justice Department, he returned home to Alton, where he practiced law for over 50 years and was a partner in the Stobbs and Sinclair Law Firm; he served as a special Assistant State's Attorney under Raleigh Griffith in the early 1970s, where he was specially appointed to prosecute corruption cases; he had a perfect record of 14 convictions and no losses in the cases that proceeded to trial; and

WHEREAS, John Stobbs was a member of several organizations, including the American Legion, the Madison County Bar Association (Treasurer), the Illinois and Missouri State Bar Associations, the Seventh and Eighth Circuit Federal Courts of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court, the Marquette High School Renaissance Society, the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association (Vice-President), and the American Trial Lawyers Association; and

WHEREAS, John Stobbs was preceded in death by his parents; his son-in-law, Gerard Riordan; and his grandson, Stephen "Danny" Stobbs; and

WHEREAS, John Stobbs is survived by his wife, Mary; his children, Tracey Stobbs Riordan, Monica Jude Stobbs, Elizabeth Dunn Stobbs, John Dale (Rosario) Stobbs II, Mary Jennifer Margarida, Stephen (Katie) Stobbs, and Kathryn (Don) Santellano; 15 grandchildren; and his sister, Janice Brown; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of John Dale Stobbs, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of John Stobbs as an expression of our deepest sympathy.