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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Bruce Linder Larson of Urbana, who passed
4away on September 30, 2015; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on
6June 24, 1927 to Leif R. and Olive H.R. Larson (nee Linder);
7his family moved to Chicago for a time before returning to
8Minneapolis; he received his Bachelor of Science in 1948 and
9his Ph.D. in 1951, both from the University of Minnesota; he
10married Helen Hersleth on September 24, 1954; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was a professor of biochemistry and
12nutritional sciences in animal sciences at the University of
13Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Agriculture for more
14than 40 years, retiring in 1992; he started a teaching and
15research program in 1951 in Illinois on milk proteins and
16cellular mechanisms involved in the synthesis of milk; it
17resulted in more than 140 research papers, books, and related
18publications; he edited a 4-volume comprehensive treatise on
19lactation authored by international agriculture and medical
20scientists; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson traveled extensively to many
22countries; he was a Fulbright Scholar in Argentina in 1965 with

 

 

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1his family; he was in Russia in 1961, the week the Berlin Wall
2was constructed; he was with Marjorie in India in 1971 to help
3dedicate a new nuclear facility and lecture on radioactive
4fallout and the use of radioisotopes in biological research; 2
5days after meeting Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, India and
6Pakistan were at war with each other; after several hectic
7days, he and Marjorie escaped India by way of Iran; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson served on many campus committees,
9including General University Policy, Promotion and Tenure,
10Statutes and Procedures, and dean and chancellor searches; he
11was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UIUC Athletic
12Association (AA) around 1990 when the AA Board of Directors and
13U of I Board of Trustees jointly abolished the AA and brought
14intercollegiate athletics under the campus administration of
15the chancellor; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was an outdoor enthusiast who loved
17wilderness camping and canoeing in northern Minnesota and
18Canada; he was an Eagle Scout and later an adult scout leader;
19he and Marjorie had a cabin on the shore of Lake Superior in
20Minnesota; he recognized early the vulnerability of unique
21wilderness areas and that there would be a growing need to
22preserve many of these natural lands for future public benefit;
23he was involved with the Izaak Walton League of America for
24more than 50 years, working for the preservation of native

 

 

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1environments, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
2Wilderness in Minnesota; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was elected for 42 years (1967-2009)
4to the Urbana Park Board of Commissioners and was Board
5Chairman for 33 years, a State record; he was actively involved
6with land acquisition, helping to increase the number of parks
7in Urbana from 6 to more than 20; he was a founder of the Urbana
8Parks Foundation; in June of 2014, the Urbana Park District
9renamed Wheatfield Park to Larson Park in honor of his 42 years
10of service to the Urbana Park District; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was elected to the Board of the
12Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD); he rewrote its
13constitutional by-laws and served as President in 1995; in
141991, he helped establish IPARKS (Illinois Parks Association
15Risk Services), a self-insuring pool of Illinois park districts
16for which he served as the first Chairman and on the Board;
17IPARKS now insures about half of the 350 Illinois park
18districts, resulting in millions of dollars saved for Illinois
19taxpayers; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was involved with the University YMCA
21for many years, serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors
22from 1967 to 1970; part of that time, he was also the acting
23Executive Director; later, he served on the Board of Trustees;

 

 

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1he was a long-term member of the Urbana Exchange Club and for
2many years was a member of the Champaign County Design and
3Conservation Foundation; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was a member of St. Matthew Lutheran
5Church in Urbana; in the early 1960s, he persuaded a land owner
6on Philo Road in southeast Urbana to sell some land to the
7congregation, where a new church was built in 1964; years
8later, a promise was kept resulting in more land for the
9church; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson received many awards, including a
11gold medal from the American Chemical Society, the Outstanding
12Board Member of the Year award from the National Park and
13Recreation Association, the Lifetime Conservation award from
14the Izaak Walton League of America, the Funk award from the
15College of Agriculture, and the Resident of Distinction award
16from the Half Century Club of Urbana; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson married Janice Wilson in 2011; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson was preceded in death by his brother,
19Raeder; his first wife, Marjorie; and his son, Brian; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Bruce Larson is survived by his wife, Janice; his
212 sons, Dr. Eric M. Larson and David B. Larson; and his 2

 

 

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1granddaughters, Katherine and Jennifer Larson; he and Marjorie
2also had a "bonded" daughter, Karen Athy-Penrose, who with her
3husband and 4 daughters were considered family; therefore, be
4it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
6ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
7Bruce Linder Larson, and extend our sincere condolences to his
8family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
9further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11presented to the family of Bruce Larson as an expression of our
12deepest sympathy.