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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Dr. Wilson H. West of Belleville, who
4 passed away on May 21, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Dr. Wilson H. West was born September 13, 1913, in
6 Odin; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Dr. West was a member of the Signal Hill United
8 Methodist Church, Gothic Lodge #852 A.F. & A.M., the Scottish
9 Rite of Southern Illinois, the Knights Templar, and the Ainad
10 Shrine; he was also a member of the St. Clair County Medical
11 Society and served as its president in 1971; Dr. West also
12 served on the Board of Directors of the Union Bank of St. Clair
13 County for 25 years; and
 
14     WHEREAS, He was an active member and leader in the
15 Republican Party and was viewed by many as the foremost
16 authority on the Republican Party in Southwestern Illinois; he
17 served as Chairman of the St. Clair County Republican Century
18 Club for more than 25 years, was elected as a delegate at seven
19 Republican National Conventions, and was an Elector in the
20 Electoral College for three presidential elections; he was very
21 active in local, State, and national politics and hosted
22 prominent politicians at St. Clair County events, including

 

 

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1 Former President George H. W. Bush, Dennis Hastert, the late
2 Everett Dirksen, Howard Baker, Jay Rockefeller, and many
3 others; many Illinois politicians attended events at his
4 invitation, including former Treasurer Judy Barr-Topinka and
5 former Governors Ryan, Edgar, Thompson, and Ogilvie; he was
6 proud to have attended the inaugurations of many Presidents and
7 Governors and was a frequent guest at the Governor's Mansion
8 and the White House; and
 
9     WHEREAS, After graduating from Southern Illinois Teachers
10 College (now Southern Illinois University at Carbondale) in
11 1933, Dr. West pursued his M.D. at Saint Louis University
12 School of Medicine; he graduated in 1937 and practiced general
13 medicine and surgery in East St. Louis for 45 years before
14 moving his medical practice to Belleville, where he practiced
15 until his retirement in 1997; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Dr. West served on the board of Centreville (now
17 Touchette Regional Hospital) for forty years; he also served as
18 Chief of Staff at Centerville, Christian Welfare, and Saint
19 Mary's hospitals at various times during his career; Dr. West
20 wrote for medical research journals and was a professor at
21 Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Washington
22 University School of Medicine, and Barnes Hospital; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Dr. West is the namesake and past recipient of the

 

 

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1 St. Clair County Medical Society's Wilson H. West Award for
2 service in the health care profession; Dr. West was honored as
3 an "outstanding alumnus" by the St. Louis University School of
4 Medicine; in 1966, Dr. West received the Everett Dirksen Award
5 and subsequently established a Nursing Scholarship with the
6 same organization; in 2002, Dr. West was awarded the
7 prestigious Eisenhower Commission; he was awarded lifetime
8 membership on the Republican National Committee, the honorary
9 organization the Republican Speaker's Circle, and the
10 President's Club; and
 
11     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 58
12 years, Sarah Mildred (Ingram) West, his parents, William and
13 Clara West and his two siblings, Georgia Purvis and Margaret
14 West; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Dr. West is survived by his only son, John West;
16 his grandchildren, Kimberly Caslin, Mardi West, John West Jr.,
17 Sarah West, and Jason West; and his great-grandchildren, Claire
18 Allread, Ryan Caslin, Melissa West, John West III, and Noah
19 Caslin; therefore, be it
 
20     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
21 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
22 his family, friends, colleagues, and people whose lives he
23 touched through the years, the passing of Dr. Wilson West; and

 

 

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1 be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3 presented to the family of Dr. Wilson West as a symbol of our
4 sympathy.