SR0921 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to express their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Thomas K. Hutchinson of Godfrey, Illinois, who passed away on January 1, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Hutchinson was born in Alton on October 30, 1924; his parents were O.C.K. Hutchinson and Cora (Wuerker) Hutchinson; and

WHEREAS, He graduated from the New York Maritime Academy in 1942; he met his first wife, Nancy Jane Brokaw, while serving in the Merchant Marines during World War II; they were married on March 22, 1947; she preceded him in death on June 10, 1983; and

WHEREAS, After World War II he returned to Alton; from humble beginnings in a garage, Thomas Hutchinson and his father began Hutchinson Foundry Products, which became the largest independently owned manufacturer of rotors in the United States; and

WHEREAS, In 1971, Mr. Hutchinson was appointed to the Alton Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, where he served as chairman of many committees, including the building and grounds committee; after his retirement, he continued to serve, remaining on the Hospital Foundation Board of Directors; he also served as president of both Lewis and Clark Community College and the Foundation Board of Directors and the Lockhaven Development Board of Directors; and

WHEREAS, A lifelong love for hunting and firearms began at the age of 5 when his father took him hunting for the first time; he started his gun collection at age 8 with the acquisition of a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun; at first he collected air guns and had built up one of the finest collections in the United States when he donated it to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; he continued his collection, in part inspired by the study of his great-uncle, Frederick Wuerker, a fine gun maker in Alton during the 1850s; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Hutchinson was a member of the Winchester Advisory Board of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, a member of the Ohio Gun Collectors Association, the National Rifle Association, the Colt Collectors Association, Ducks Unlimited, the Winchester Club of America, and the American Society of Arms Collectors; his gun collection, one of the largest in the country in private hands, was sold at auction in 2002 to fund a charitable remainder trust to benefit the Alton community; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Hutchinson also inherited both of his parents' passion for the conservation of wildlife and ornithology; in 1992, he donated more than 100 acres of land to the Great Rivers Land Preservation Organization as a bird sanctuary in memory of his parents; and

WHEREAS, On November 12, 1988, he married Lonjeana "Jeana" (Gunn) Lukowski in Hannibal, Missouri; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Hutchinson was a member of the Alton Nature League and Ainad Shrine Temple of East St. Louis; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Hutchinson is survived by his wife, Jeana; his daughters, Cathy (Richard) Whittlesey, Gail (Kent) Clarkson, Pam (Matt) Bishop, and Susie (David) Moore; his stepchildren, Elizabeth (Brian) Boyer, Vincent Lukowski, Jennifer (Jim) McClintock, Marion (Scott) Taylor, and Joanne (Scott) Lammert; his grandchildren, Kristin (Kory) Stolte, Mark (Kim) Whittlesey, Paige (Chris) Fleener, Peter (Jackie) Priester, Kyle and Melissa Symes, and Brett and Adam Hartig; his step-grandchildren, John Lukowski, Juliet and Jared McClintock, Morgan and Andrew Taylor and Jordan, Samantha and Tyler Lammert; and his great-grandchildren, Sam and Emma Stolte and Jack Fleener; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Thomas Hutchinson; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Thomas Hutchinson.