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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of William
4L. Helvie, who passed away on December 15, 2010; and
 
5    WHEREAS, William Helvie was born on May 1, 1927, in Alton;
6his parents were Harold R. and Edith F. (Anderson) Helvie; and
 
7    WHEREAS, William Helvie was raised in Wood River and
8attended local grade schools and East Alton-Wood River High
9School, where he graduated in 1945; during high school, he
10attended carpentry class for 3 years, learning how to build
11homes; he was on the track team in his senior year, running the
12mile and half-mile in every track meet; he obtained several 1st
13and 2nd place awards during the season and holds the honor of
142nd place in the Southwest Conference Mile and 4th place in the
15District Mile in 1945; and
 
16    WHEREAS, While attending high school, William Helvie was
17employed as a paperboy; he later became the manager of Wood
18River News Agency; he also worked during the summers for the
19Economy Boat Store and holidays for the Wood River Flower Shop
20and, later, for Smit's Florist; and
 
21    WHEREAS, After graduating from high school, William Helvie

 

 

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1was drafted into the United States Army; after attending Ft.
2Benjamin Harrison Army Finance School in Indiana, he was
3shipped to Ft. Sheridan to work in the 5th Army Separation
4Center; later, he worked in the Separation Center at Camp
5Grant, Illinois and Camp McCoy, Wisconsin; after attending
6basic training at Ft. Lee, Virginia, he returned to Ft.
7Sheridan to work in Post Finance; during 1943 and 1944, he
8constructed model airplanes for the Army, Air Force, and Navy
9to identify German and Japanese aircraft; he was discharged in
101947 at the rank of Sergeant; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1947, William Helvie enrolled at Ranken
12Technical College in a class for pattern making; after
13graduating in 1949, he went to work at Duncan Foundry in Alton
14in the pattern shop; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 1959, William Helvie went to work for Paul
16Worcester at Woodland Hill Cemetery as the cemetery's first
17sexton; 2 years later, Mr. Worcester sold the cemetery to Mr.
18Helvie, who became the first owner to live at the cemetery and
19maintain it; he spent 40 years improving the cemetery, adding
20the Garden features and the Veteran's Memorial with the help of
21Wood River VFW Post 2859; he added the "Avenue of Flags", where
22casket flags donated by veterans' families were put on poles
23and placed along the cemetery road; he and many of his family
24and friends placed the flags, donating their time to honor the

 

 

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1veterans, and placed a small flag on each veteran's grave; he
2also held a public service every Memorial Day at the cemetery;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, In 1952, William Helvie joined the Rosewood
5Heights Volunteer Fire Department to help protect his
6community; he served as captain of a fire crew for a period of
7time; he was later elected to serve as treasurer of the fire
8department and, after 7 years, was appointed Trustee of the
9Fire District due to the death of trustee George Hudson; he
10served as treasurer of the Fire District for 26 years before he
11retired in 1992, after 40 years in fire service; during his
12tenure with the fire department, he served on many committees;
13he was a member of the Illinois Fire Fighters Association, the
14Madison County Fireman's Association, and the Madison County
15Fire Fighters; he also bowled with the fire department bowling
16league for several years; and
 
17    WHEREAS, On June 19, 1982, William Helvie was honored with
18a plaque in Chicago from the Illinois Veterans of Foreign Wars
19organization for his outstanding efforts in promoting
20patriotism in his community with the flag placement display on
21Memorial Day and Veterans Day; he was one of only 10 people in
22the United States that year to receive the honor; and
 
23    WHEREAS, William Helvie served as Cub Scout committee man

 

 

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1for Pack #60 and scout troop #60; he later became the Explorer
2Post 60 advisor; he was in scouting for 15 years and was a past
3member of the Order of the Arrow; he helped to form the Piasa
4Bird Trail, a 14-mile Scout Trail on the river bluffs above the
5River Road that was walked by over 25,000 Scouts in 10 years;
6he was also a past member of the Illinois Cemetery Association
7and the American Cemetery Association, a lifetime member of the
8Wood River American Legion, Post #204, and later the East Alton
9Post #794, and a member of the Alton Eagles, Aerie #254, the
10Wood River Moose Lodge #1349, the National Sheriffs
11Association, and the Ranken Alumni Association; and
 
12    WHEREAS, William Helvie was a member of the 1st United
13Methodist Church in Wood River for over 80 years; he served on
14many church committees and worked on many woodworking projects
15for the church; he also bowled on the Men's Church League for
16several years; and
 
17    WHEREAS, William Helvie was preceded in death by his son,
18Ned Helvie, and his parents; and
 
19    WHEREAS, William Helvie is survived by his ex-wife, Reka;
20his son, Kip Helvie; his daughter and son-in-law, Marsha and
21Randy Klug; his grandson, Craig Smith; his granddaughter and
22her husband, Jessi and Bill Williams; his great-granddaughter,
23Adelyn; his close companion, Bernice O. Cox; and the families

 

 

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1of Jimmie and Donna Powell, Teresa and Gene Bartlet, Denis and
2Mark Northy, and Phyllis Day; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
5mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
6William L. Helvie; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of William Helvie as an expression of
9our sympathy.