SR1207 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1207 LRB099 14611 MST 38750 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Bruce Linder Larson of Urbana, who passed away on September 30, 2015; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 24, 1927 to Leif R. and Olive H.R. Larson (nee Linder); his family moved to Chicago for a time before returning to Minneapolis; he received his Bachelor of Science in 1948 and his Ph.D. in 1951, both from the University of Minnesota; he married Helen Hersleth on September 24, 1954; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was a professor of biochemistry and nutritional sciences in animal sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Agriculture for more than 40 years, retiring in 1992; he started a teaching and research program in 1951 in Illinois on milk proteins and cellular mechanisms involved in the synthesis of milk; it resulted in more than 140 research papers, books, and related publications; he edited a 4-volume comprehensive treatise on lactation authored by international agriculture and medical scientists; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson traveled extensively to many countries; he was a Fulbright Scholar in Argentina in 1965 with his family; he was in Russia in 1961, the week the Berlin Wall was constructed; he was with Marjorie in India in 1971 to help dedicate a new nuclear facility and lecture on radioactive fallout and the use of radioisotopes in biological research; 2 days after meeting Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, India and Pakistan were at war with each other; after several hectic days, he and Marjorie escaped India by way of Iran; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson served on many campus committees, including General University Policy, Promotion and Tenure, Statutes and Procedures, and dean and chancellor searches; he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UIUC Athletic Association (AA) around 1990 when the AA Board of Directors and U of I Board of Trustees jointly abolished the AA and brought intercollegiate athletics under the campus administration of the chancellor; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was an outdoor enthusiast who loved wilderness camping and canoeing in northern Minnesota and Canada; he was an Eagle Scout and later an adult scout leader; he and Marjorie had a cabin on the shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota; he recognized early the vulnerability of unique wilderness areas and that there would be a growing need to preserve many of these natural lands for future public benefit; he was involved with the Izaak Walton League of America for more than 50 years, working for the preservation of native environments, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was elected for 42 years (1967-2009) to the Urbana Park Board of Commissioners and was Board Chairman for 33 years, a State record; he was actively involved with land acquisition, helping to increase the number of parks in Urbana from 6 to more than 20; he was a founder of the Urbana Parks Foundation; in June of 2014, the Urbana Park District renamed Wheatfield Park to Larson Park in honor of his 42 years of service to the Urbana Park District; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was elected to the Board of the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD); he rewrote its constitutional by-laws and served as President in 1995; in 1991, he helped establish IPARKS (Illinois Parks Association Risk Services), a self-insuring pool of Illinois park districts for which he served as the first Chairman and on the Board; IPARKS now insures about half of the 350 Illinois park districts, resulting in millions of dollars saved for Illinois taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was involved with the University YMCA for many years, serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1967 to 1970; part of that time, he was also the acting Executive Director; later, he served on the Board of Trustees; he was a long-term member of the Urbana Exchange Club and for many years was a member of the Champaign County Design and Conservation Foundation; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Urbana; in the early 1960s, he persuaded a land owner on Philo Road in southeast Urbana to sell some land to the congregation, where a new church was built in 1964; years later, a promise was kept resulting in more land for the church; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson received many awards, including a gold medal from the American Chemical Society, the Outstanding Board Member of the Year award from the National Park and Recreation Association, the Lifetime Conservation award from the Izaak Walton League of America, the Funk award from the College of Agriculture, and the Resident of Distinction award from the Half Century Club of Urbana; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson married Janice Wilson in 2011; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was preceded in death by his brother, Raeder; his first wife, Marjorie; and his son, Brian; and

WHEREAS, Bruce Larson is survived by his wife, Janice; his 2 sons, Dr. Eric M. Larson and David B. Larson; and his 2 granddaughters, Katherine and Jennifer Larson; he and Marjorie also had a "bonded" daughter, Karen Athy-Penrose, who with her husband and 4 daughters were considered family; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Bruce Linder Larson, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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