HR1504 LRB095 22372 GRL 52704 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of John
4 Younker Simon, who passed away on July 8, 2008; and
 
5     WHEREAS, John Simon was born on June 25, 1933 in Highland
6 Park; he graduated from Swarthmore College and received his
7 master's degree and Ph.D., both in history, from Harvard
8 University, where he met his future wife, Harriet; and
 
9     WHEREAS, John Simon taught at Ohio State University before
10 joining the faculty at Southern Illinois University at
11 Carbondale in 1964; for 44 years, he taught history at SIU,
12 teaching courses on the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the
13 history of Illinois; and
 
14     WHEREAS, John Simon also devoted much of his life to his
15 true vocation, the Ulysses S. Grant papers project; he began
16 the project, which comprises thousands of documents and
17 annotations, in 1962 and was nearing completion at the time of
18 his passing; in total, he had published 28 volumes, with
19 volumes 29 and 30 scheduled for release in 2008 by the Southern
20 Illinois University Press and a supplemental volume and an
21 annotated edition of Grant's memoirs to follow; he was awarded
22 a Lincoln Prize in 2004 in recognition of his efforts to bring

 

 

HR1504 - 2 - LRB095 22372 GRL 52704 r

1 the writings of Ulysses S. Grant to light; he also served as
2 the executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association; and
 
3     WHEREAS, An accomplished historical author, John Simon
4 wrote or edited a number of books dealing with Abraham Lincoln,
5 Ulysses S. Grant, and the American Civil War, as well as dozens
6 of journal articles on 19th-century American history subjects;
7 and
 
8     WHEREAS, John Simon is survived by his wife, Harriet Simon;
9 his sister, Barbara Stuart; his daughter, Ellen Roundtree; and
10 his two grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
11     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
13 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of John
14 Y. Simon; and be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16 presented to the family of John Y. Simon as an expression of
17 our sympathy.