SR0401 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0401 LRB093 20389 KEF 46161 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois were saddened to learn of the death of William L. Fay of Jacksonville on January 18, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Fay was born on September 8, 1914 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the son of William Augustus and Emily Jane Allan Fay; and

WHEREAS, He married Elizabeth Long on June 29, 1940 in Pontiac, and she preceded him in death on May 2, 1990; he later married Patricia Hughes Becker on February 16, 1991; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Fay was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Illinois College, class of 1935, where he was co-editor of the Rambler and President of Sigma Pi Literary Society; he attended Culver Summer Naval School from 1930-1932 and was one of the editors of the Culver Vidette; from 1935-1938, he attended Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Powell Law Club and a winning oralist in the Ames Moor Court Competition; he began the practice of law in Chicago with the firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas; and

WHEREAS, In 1942, he joined the United States Navy and was sent to Ohio State for officer training; he served in Memphis, Tennessee, then in the invasion of Sicily; later he was sent to the South Pacific where he spent a year on the Russell Islands as officer in charge of Airborne Training Unit 2, training B-25 groups; during the last year of World War II, he was ordered to the Glenview Naval Air Station near Chicago where he served as aide to the commanding officer; finally, he was sent to several bases in Kansas where B-29 crews were training for attacks on Japan; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Fay held honorary degrees from both Jacksonville colleges, Illinois College and MacMurray College, where he was a lifetime trustee; when Mr. Fay was released from the Navy, he returned to Jacksonville and became a partner in the Bellatti law firm; his first public office was secretary of the Jacksonville Airport Authority, which he helped to organize; he replaced Oscar Zachary as State's attorney and later became Jacksonville's city attorney; a high point of his legal career came when he was elected a delegate to the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention and appointed by Samuel Witwer as chairman of the Committee on Judiciary; when the convention was over, the Chicago Tribune recognized Mr. Fay for his outstanding service and referred to him as "a stabilizing force both in committee and on the floor"; and

WHEREAS, He served in many civic posts, including president of Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce, and the YMCA; he recently co-chaired the Jacksonville Public Library Rebuilding Campaign; until the Jacksonville Journal-Courier was sold, Mr. Fay was editorial director and shared opinions with his brother, Robert, the publisher; he was also a member of the Congregational Church; and

WHEREAS, A lifelong outdoorsman, Mr. Fay spent his summers at Moscow Bay, near Bath, from the time he was an infant; he chronicled his years spent there in the book "Life at Moscow Bay," which he wrote and published in 2001; and

WHEREAS, The passing of William L. Fay will be deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Patricia; his two daughters, Emily (husband, Fred) Osburn and Ann Sterry Fay; his five grandchildren, Elizabeth (husband, Peter) Cappas, Kathryn (husband, Christopher Lu) Thomson, Sarah (husband, Garen) Dodge, Rachel (husband, Hank) Gray, and Robert B. (wife, Erin) Thomson III; his eight great-granchildren; his two stepsons, Steve (wife, Daryl Jean) Becker and Jeffrey (wife, Linda) Becker; his two step-daughters, Susan (husband, Tom) Feuerbach and Janet Becker Shouse; his nine step-grandchildren; and his step-great-grandchild; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by twin sons, Christopher Sterry and William Augustus; and his brother, Robert A. Fay; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of William L. Fay along with all who knew and loved him and extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of William L. Fay as an expression of our deepest sympathy.