HR0230 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0230 LRB103 32050 MST 60971 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Paul Porter Davidsmeyer on the occasion of his 100th Birthday, celebrated on April 16, 2023; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer was born in Jacksonville to Faith Porter and R.H. Davidsmeyer on April 16, 1923; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer served gallantly in the U.S. Army during World War II with the 82nd Airborne and fought in three battles, including the Battle of the Bulge (1944-45), where he received a Purple Heart and the Presidential Unit Citation; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer participated in the liberation of the Wobbelin camp, a sub-camp of the Neuengamme concentration camp, near the city of Ludwigslust in May 1945; and

WHEREAS, After the war, Paul Davidsmeyer returned home, married his sweetheart, Saralee Butler, and moved to Springfield to start a family; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer worked at different jobs through the 1950s and served in leadership positions on multiple boards and with clubs, including as president of the Springfield Jaycees from 1951 to 1952, where he was named the most outstanding local Jaycee president of the year in 1952, chosen from 100 presidents of Illinois Jaycee organizations; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer took his family back to Jacksonville in 1962 after the death of his father, R.H. Davidsmeyer, and his uncle, Paul Davidsmeyer, who founded the Davidsmeyer Oil Company after purchasing the Cockin Oil Company; the brothers renamed the company Illinois Road Contractors; and

WHEREAS, Under Paul Davidsmeyer's leadership, the company operated many different facilities from Paducah, Kentucky to Utica, mostly based in central Illinois, and developed a solid reputation throughout the entire Midwest; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer was instrumental in founding the Illinois chapter of Ducks Unlimited, an organization dedicated to conserving, restoring, and managing wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer was a founding member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, where he served as an elder, as president of the congregation, and as a choir member; and

WHEREAS, Paul Davidsmeyer has been the loving husband of Saralee for 77 years; he is the proud father of Devon and Cindy, the proud grandfather of Stephanie, C.D., Jayde, and Mycah, and the proud great-grandfather of nine; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Paul Porter Davidsmeyer on his 100th Birthday, and we wish him many more wonderful years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Paul Davidsmeyer as an expression of our respect and esteem for a truly remarkable life and a leading example of a good man to emulate.