SR0738 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0738 LRB095 21507 KXB 51187 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Donald Wilson of Downers Grove, who passed away on April 10, 2008; and

WHEREAS, The Wilson family came from Sweden to Illinois when Donald's Uncle August (a wagon maker) was asked to participate as a tradesman at the Swedish Pavilion in the Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) in Chicago in 1893; after the Exposition ended, he settled in Geneva with a group of other Swedes, and he wrote Donald's father (Oscar) in Sweden and encouraged him to join August in America; and

WHEREAS, Oscar joined his brother in Geneva in 1899 and they soon started a building business, known as Wilson Brothers, which was responsible for designing and building a significant number of homes in Geneva and Batavia and also many buildings still standing on Main Street in Geneva; two of their first residential houses (the Hoyt house in Geneva and the Gridley-Snow house in Batavia) were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and they also worked on other Wright projects including the Unity Temple in Oak Park and the Avery Coonley house in Riverside; and

WHEREAS, Donald Wilson was the youngest of six children; his siblings included, Marion, Kenneth, Norman, George, and Leonard; they were born to Oscar and Frida Wilson (Frida also being a Swedish immigrant); Donald was born in 1919, he attended Geneva public schools, and was the quarterback on the Geneva High School football team; and

WHEREAS, Donald and his wife began dating while they were both students at Geneva High School; after high school, Donald worked for two years before starting at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, but his college experience was interrupted when World War II broke out in 1941; and

WHEREAS, He enlisted in the United States Navy and became a Pilot and Section Leader in Bombing Squadron Three in the USS Yorktown; he piloted an SBD Dauntless Divebomber on numerous carrier-based missions over the Philippines, Formosa, French Indo-China, Chichi Jim, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and he participated in the first Navy carrier-based plane strikes against Tokyo; for his service, he was awarded the Navy Air Medal and four Navy Gold Stars; he sent an engagement ring to his future wife, Lucille Stokes, by mail while he was aboard an aircraft carrier, and they were married on August 30, 1943 while he was on leave; and

WHEREAS, After the war, he graduated from Cornell College and left business school in 1947 to enter the management training program at Bell Telephone, where he worked for approximately 35 years; Bell Telephone's practice was to move their management people among different offices, so he worked in Chicago, Elgin, Rockford, Chicago (again), Joliet, and then Chicago one more time during his career; in Joliet, he was active in the United Way and served as President of the West Side Kiwanis Club of Joliet; he also sang as a baritone in two barbershop quartets that competed in state-wide competitions; and

WHEREAS, After retiring in 1981, he participated as a volunteer in several community activities, including teaching English as a second language to immigrants from over 30 countries in the Downers Grove area; he was also an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Downers Grove; and

WHEREAS, Donald Wilson is survived by his wife of over 64 years, Lucille; his two daughters, Louise Wilson and Mary Ambrose; his son, John Wilson; and his five grandchildren; therefore, be it

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

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Donald Wilson as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.