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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 former
4Mt. Vernon Mayor Rolland Lewis, who passed away on November 5,
52011; and
 
6    WHEREAS, He was born to Chester and Lillian (Fair) Lewis in
7Chicago on October 13, 1930; he was an active member and lay
8reader of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Mt. Vernon; he
9attended Caldwell Grade School and graduated from Bowen High
10School, after which he attended the first 2 years at the
11University of Illinois Chicago Annex; and
 
12    WHEREAS, On June 25, 1952, he married Sally Watts; he
13proudly served his country in the United States Marine Corps
14during the Korean War as a Gunnery Sergeant; he spent 5 months
15in combat with the 1st Marine Division before being wounded and
16spending several months recovering in a hospital in Japan; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In 1959, he moved to Mt. Vernon with his wife,
18Sally, and became active in the community; he was a real estate
19manager, ran Lewis and Farley Construction Co., started and ran
20House de Lions, Ltd., and participated, with his long-time
21friend, David Flota, in the upstart of a new company called Mr.
22Ice; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, He was instrumental in bringing the YMCA to Mt.
2Vernon and served as its president; he later served as vice
3president of the Southern Illinois YMCA, becoming a drive
4chairman for the United Fund in Jefferson County, and was
5active in the VFW, AMVETS, and American Legion; he was elected
6as Mayor of Mt. Vernon as well as precinct committeeman in the
7Shiloh 4 precinct; his tenure as Mayor of Mt. Vernon lasted
8from 1969 to 1977 and again from 1985 to 1997; and
 
9    WHEREAS, He served as past president of the Illinois
10Municipal League, helped form the Southern Illinois Mayors
11Association (SIMA), serving as president 3 times; he served on
12the Illinois Economic Board, the Illinois Commission on the
13Future of Public Service, and the Environmental Financial
14Advisory Board for the United States EPA in Washington, D.C.;
15he served on the Governor's Advisory Board under the Ogilvie
16administration and the Illinois Law Enforcement Administration
17as an appointee of Governor Thompson; he was also appointed by
18Governor Edgar and Governor Ryan and confirmed by the Senate as
19Chairman of the Board of Review for the Department of
20Employment Security for 14 years; and
 
21    WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents and his
22son, Jeffrey George Lewis Sr.; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Rolland Lewis is survived by his wife of more than
259 years, Sally Lewis; his sons, John Lewis and wife, Pam,
3Brian Lewis and wife, Kathy, and Robert Lewis; his
4daughter-in-law, Minda Lewis; his 16 grandchildren: and his 8
5great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
8we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
9Rolland Lewis; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11presented to the family of Rolland Lewis as a symbol of our
12sincere sympathy.