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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of John
4 Randolph Phipps of Mattoon, who passed away December 14, 2009;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, He was born May 16, 1919, in Kansas, Illinois, the
7 son of Charles W. and Ethel K. (Torrance) Phipps; having taken
8 ROTC at the University of Illinois, he received his graduation
9 diploma with a BS in Economics, with honors, his commission as
10 a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army, and his orders to report for duty
11 to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, all on the same day; and
 
12     WHEREAS, During World War II, he served in the Philippines
13 as an army artillery battery commander; upon returning home, he
14 joined his brother, Clem and his wife, Claribel, as a partner
15 in the Phipps Shoe Stores; he married Pauline Prunty on
16 February 8, 1946; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Rather than joining the Reserves at that time, he
18 dropped his commission as a Major, back to Captain, to organize
19 Illinois National Guard Company E, 130th Infantry in Mattoon
20 with 21 men; an armory was built for training, which was later
21 rededicated in his name; he again performed front line combat
22 service in the Korean War as an Advisor to Republic of Korea

 

 

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1 (ROK) army troops, where he earned a Silver Star and Combat
2 Infantry Badge; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Over the years, as a citizen soldier, he attended
4 weekly drills, summer camps, and went to Advanced Military
5 Schools, including Fort Sill (Artillery), Fort Benning,
6 Georgia (Infantry); Command and General Staff College,
7 Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; National Defense University,
8 Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.; Air War College, Maxwell Air
9 Base, Alabama; Air Safety Course, University of Southern
10 California; and an orientation tour of American troops in
11 Europe in 1980; and
 
12     WHEREAS, He served as Assistant Adjutant General of the
13 State of Illinois from 1970-1978, and, in 1971, he earned his
14 Masters in Public Administration at Sangamon State University
15 (now the University of Illinois, Springfield); he became the
16 Adjutant General in 1978, serving until his retirement in 1983,
17 after 42 years of commissioned military service; he continued
18 in community service thereafter, serving for 13 years on the
19 Coles County Board of Review; he was active in his church and
20 multiple service clubs; and
 
21     WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, he was a member of the
22 First Presbyterian Church, Rotary Club, Exchange Club, a
23 director on the boards of the Lincoln/Sargent Farm Foundation,

 

 

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1 the Thomas Lincoln Cemetery Association, and a member of the
2 Mattoon Golf and Country Club; he also had life memberships in
3 the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, 40 & 8, the
4 National Guard Association, and the University of Illinois
5 Alumni Association; he had taken the time to write two books,
6 "Citizen-Soldier" and its sequel, for the benefit of his
7 grandchildren and progeny; and
 
8     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles
9 Winslow Phipps and Ethel Kelsey (Torrance) Phipps; his
10 brothers, Horace (Joe) Torrance Phipps and wife, Marian
11 (Sheridan) Phipps, and Clem Gordon Phipps and wife, Claribel
12 (Gant) Phipps; his sister, Carolyn Belle Phipps; and his
13 daughter, Kelsey Selander Phipps; and
 
14     WHEREAS, He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Pauline
15 (Prunty) Phipps; his son, Charles Winslow Phipps and wife, Gail
16 Bankemper Phipps; his granddaughter, Cristen Phipps; and his
17 grandsons, John Randolph Phipps II, Nathan Matthew Phipps,
18 Derek Brandon Selander, and Kurt Bradley Selander; therefore,
19 be it
 
20     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22 mourn, along with his family, friends, and a grateful nation,
23 the passing of General Phipps; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to the family of John Phipps as a symbol of our
3 sincere sympathy.