SR0828 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0828 LRB103 39840 ECR 70527 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Carolyn Bartholf Oxtoby of Springfield, who passed away on January 12, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Oxtoby was born to Herbert and Susan Pasfield Bartholf in Springfield on June 1, 1931; she attended Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts; she married Robert Boynton Oxtoby in 1956; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Oxtoby became a real estate developer and historic preservationist; she is credited with starting Springfield's downtown revitalization in the mid-1970s; she worked on the preservation of the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, the Fisher-Latham building in the 100 block of North Sixth Street, and the 17-unit Sears Apartment Building in the 400 block of South Seventh Street; she donated $350,000 for the purchase of the former Masonic Temple that was converted into the Hoogland Center for the Arts in 2001; she, and businesses along Sixth Street between Monroe and Adams, commissioned the design and paid for the construction of new sidewalks with the concrete paver amenity strips and historic reproduction street lighting; at one point, she managed approximately 30 apartments downtown and was known as a good and responsive landlord; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Oxtoby, along with Dick Morse and Dick Hart, was a founding member of the Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit arm of Downtown Springfield, Inc. formed to encourage donations of neglected historic structures that might otherwise be demolished; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Oxtoby was named the State Journal Register First Citizen in 1998 and received a lifetime achievement award from Landmarks Illinois in 2010; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Oxtoby was passionate about the preservation of downtown Springfield and became known as "the patron saint of Sixth Street"; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Oxtoby was preceded in death by her husband; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Oxtoby is survived by her brother, Stephen (Carol) Bartholf; her children, Thomas (Judy) Oxtoby, Michael Oxtoby, and Susan Folkens; her granddaughters, Ashleigh (Cosimo) Picci and Kristen Oxtoby; two great-grandchildren; her niece; and two nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Carolyn Bartholf Oxtoby and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

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