Full Text of SR0224 095th General Assembly
SR0224 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
SR0224 |
|
LRB095 12313 KXB 36935 r |
|
| 1 |
| SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of Dr. Wilson H. West of Belleville, who | 4 |
| passed away on May 21, 2007; and
| 5 |
| WHEREAS, Dr. Wilson H. West was born September 13, 1913, in | 6 |
| Odin;
and
| 7 |
| WHEREAS, Dr. West was a member of the Signal Hill United | 8 |
| Methodist Church, Gothic Lodge #852 A.F. & A.M., the Scottish | 9 |
| Rite of Southern Illinois, the Knights Templar, and the Ainad | 10 |
| Shrine; he was also a member of the St. Clair County Medical | 11 |
| Society and served as its president in 1971; Dr. West also | 12 |
| served on the Board of Directors of the Union Bank of St. Clair | 13 |
| County for 25 years; and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, He was an active member and leader in the | 15 |
| Republican Party and was viewed by many as the foremost | 16 |
| authority on the Republican Party in Southwestern Illinois; he | 17 |
| served as Chairman of the St. Clair County Republican Century | 18 |
| Club for more than 25 years, was elected as a delegate at seven | 19 |
| Republican National Conventions, and was an Elector in the | 20 |
| Electoral College for three presidential elections; he was very | 21 |
| active in local, State, and national politics and hosted | 22 |
| prominent politicians at St. Clair County events, including |
|
|
|
SR0224 |
- 2 - |
LRB095 12313 KXB 36935 r |
|
| 1 |
| Former President George H. W. Bush, Dennis Hastert, the late | 2 |
| Everett Dirksen, Howard Baker, Jay Rockefeller, and many | 3 |
| others; many Illinois politicians attended events at his | 4 |
| invitation, including former Treasurer Judy Barr-Topinka and | 5 |
| former Governors Ryan, Edgar, Thompson, and Ogilvie; he was | 6 |
| proud to have attended the inaugurations of many Presidents and | 7 |
| Governors and was a frequent guest at the Governor's Mansion | 8 |
| and the White House; and
| 9 |
| WHEREAS, After graduating from Southern Illinois Teachers | 10 |
| College (now Southern Illinois University at Carbondale) in | 11 |
| 1933, Dr. West pursued his M.D. at Saint Louis University | 12 |
| School of Medicine; he graduated in 1937 and practiced general | 13 |
| medicine and surgery in East St. Louis for 45 years before | 14 |
| moving his medical practice to Belleville, where he practiced | 15 |
| until his retirement in 1997; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Dr. West served on the board of Centreville (now | 17 |
| Touchette Regional Hospital) for forty years; he also served as | 18 |
| Chief of Staff at Centerville, Christian Welfare, and Saint | 19 |
| Mary's hospitals at various times during his career; Dr. West | 20 |
| wrote for medical research journals and was a professor at | 21 |
| Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Washington | 22 |
| University School of Medicine, and Barnes Hospital; and
| 23 |
| WHEREAS, Dr. West is the namesake and past recipient of the |
|
|
|
SR0224 |
- 3 - |
LRB095 12313 KXB 36935 r |
|
| 1 |
| St. Clair County Medical Society's Wilson H. West Award for | 2 |
| service in the health care profession; Dr. West was honored as | 3 |
| an "outstanding alumnus" by the St. Louis University School of | 4 |
| Medicine; in 1966, Dr. West received the Everett Dirksen Award | 5 |
| and subsequently established a Nursing Scholarship with the | 6 |
| same organization; in 2002, Dr. West was awarded the | 7 |
| prestigious Eisenhower Commission; he was awarded lifetime | 8 |
| membership on the Republican National Committee, the honorary | 9 |
| organization the Republican Speaker's Circle, and the | 10 |
| President's Club; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 58 | 12 |
| years, Sarah Mildred (Ingram) West, his parents, William and | 13 |
| Clara West and his two siblings, Georgia Purvis and Margaret | 14 |
| West; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Dr. West is survived by his only son, John West; | 16 |
| his grandchildren, Kimberly Caslin, Mardi West, John West Jr., | 17 |
| Sarah West, and Jason West; and his great-grandchildren, Claire | 18 |
| Allread, Ryan Caslin, Melissa West, John West III, and Noah | 19 |
| Caslin; therefore, be it
| 20 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 21 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 22 |
| his family, friends, colleagues, and people whose lives he | 23 |
| touched through the years, the passing of Dr. Wilson West; and |
|
|
|
SR0224 |
- 4 - |
LRB095 12313 KXB 36935 r |
|
| 1 |
| be it further
| 2 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 |
| presented to the family of Dr. Wilson West as a symbol of our | 4 |
| sympathy.
|
|