HR1078 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1078 LRB095 20361 KXB 47729 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former State Representative Giddy Erwin Dyer of Davidson, North Carolina, formerly of Hinsdale, who passed away on February 28, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Goudyloch Saffold Erwin was born May 28, 1919, in Atlanta, Georgia, and spent her childhood in Davidson, North Carolina; she was the daughter of the late Mary Louisa Browne Erwin and former Davidson College English professor Edward Jones Erwin; her brothers, George Pfifer Erwin and Edward Jones Erwin, were both killed during World War II and her family constructed a memorial building in their honor, Erwin Lodge, which remains part of the campus of Davidson College; and

WHEREAS, After completing a year at then all-male Davidson College, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta in 1938; she spent two years as an assistant children's librarian at the New York City Public Library; while living in Brooklyn, New York, she met and married Robert Campbell Dyer, who preceded her in death in 2004 after 63 years of marriage; and

WHEREAS, Following World War II, she and her husband moved to the Chicago area where she became active in local community groups including Girl Scouts, the parent-teacher associations at her children's schools, the American Association of University Women, and the League of Women Voters; she also wrote reviews of children's books for The Chicago Tribune; through her involvement in the League of Women Voters, as well as the National Council of Republican Workshops, she entered politics in 1960 as the first woman elected to the DuPage County Board of Commissioners; she held the office until 1968, when she was elected to the first of six terms in the Illinois House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, As a State Representative, Giddy Dyer focused on health, education, conservation, and issues affecting women and children; she was chief Republican House sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment, and successfully pushed it through the Illinois House in 1975; her many honors for her public service included being named 1973 Woman of the Year by Illinois Business and Professional Women, and in 1982, receiving the Distinguished Alumna Award from both of her alma maters; and

WHEREAS, She served on many boards, including Planned Parenthood of the Chicago Area and the Elmhurst College Board of Trustees; she also served on the board to develop the Davidson retirement community that became The Pines; through most of her retirement, she maintained residences in both Davidson, North Carolina, and in Hinsdale, and was a talented and devoted member of bridge clubs in both communities; and

WHEREAS, Giddy Erwin Dyer is survived by her son, Colin Robert Campbell Dyer and wife, Janet; her daughter, Erwin "Wynn" Avery Graham and husband, Michael; former daughter-in-law, Marsha Dyer Kelly and husband, Chuck; her granddaughter, Leigh Avery Dyer; her grandsons, Campbell Robert Dyer and wife, Jen, Kelly Irl Dyer and wife, Anna, Galen Avery Graham and wife, Amanda, William Erwin Reid Graham, Robert "Ted" Edward Graham, and Kevin Milas Dyer; her great-grandsons, Luke Campbell Robert Dyer and Finn Winston Dyer; and her great-granddaughters, Ivy Greer Dyer and Brooke Elizabeth Dyer; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of former State Representative Giddy Erwin Dyer; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Giddy Erwin Dyer as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.